Theophania, the Daughter of Ares
by lollidella-vip
Summary: Percy "Perseus" Jackson and Tiffany "Theophania" Martin have been enemies since they first met. But what happens if one event changes their whole life and they are forced to collaborate? Percabeth & Percy/OC. Mary Sue? Not supposed to be...so don't flame.
1. Percy Vaporizes Our Pre Algebra Teacher

A/N: All right, yeah, yeah, sure I didn't even finish the first one…but this is a continuation of "Theophania, the Lost Goddess"…only in a different way…what would happen if Tiffany was Nancy Bobofit's best friend? And she always bullied Percy? YEAH, THAT'S WHAT I THOUGHT!! LOLZ. So, yeah. Percy hates Tiffany and Tiffany hates him. I really hate Rachel and Annabeth so that's probably why I'm making fanfics of PJO. This is NOTHING like "Theophania, the Lost Goddess." I'm just using the same name. Oh, and her name is Tiffany Martin. And let's pretend this is when they are freshman at Yancy Academy like in the movie (he is super hawt, im not kidding). And that Percy has dark-brown hair and blue eyes (hey, the actor who plays him has these traits, so suck it up!). So…on with the story!

**Disclaimer: I don't own PJO. I only own Tiffany. **

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_Setting: Metropolitan Museum of Art_

Tiffany's POV

"Those were the statues of Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades…" Mr. Brunner, the Latin teacher, explained. We had just left the Greek and Roman section.

"They were all naked." I said to my best friend Nancy. She started snickering.

"Will you _shut up?!_" asked (more like shouted) a male voice. I looked away from Nancy to discover blue eyes glaring at us. _Percy Jackson.,_ I thought with hatred. I absolutely hated the guy. His perfect dark hair, his perfect blue eyes, his perfect grade in Latin class…ooh, how he pissed me off. He had dyslexia and ADHD like me. Not that it mattered. He was a geek. And what do you do if you see a geek? Beat 'em up, tease them…do ANYTHING to make them feel bad about themselves!

"At least my dad still lives with me." I said, up in his face. He scowled and clenched his fists.

"NO!" Grover shouted, pulling him back. Grover was an African-American guy who was held back a lot. Anyway, he was an easy target to beat up. He limped all the time which I thought was hilarious. At lunch, Nancy threw pieces of her sandwich in his hair.

"That's it! I'm gonna beat her...I'm gonna beat her up until she…" He couldn't finish the sentence. He was already pissed. I smirked and high-fived Nancy. Grover looked at me with a worried look. "Don't make him angry anymore," he said, holding Percy back. I heard him mutter "gonna kill her" a couple of times. _Perfect. _"Why?" I asked, with a smile on my face. Grover frowned. "Because." I crossed my arms. "Are you his idle widdle girlfwend?" I asked, in a baby voice.

"AGH!" Percy shouted, breaking away from Grover. "NO!" I heard him shout. That's when he did it. Percy Jackson literally attacked me.

"FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT!" People were chanting.

"Get off of me!" I shouted. He was on top of me (ur a pervert if you're thinking about that…yes, I know what you're thinking.)

"NOT UNTIL YOU APLOGIZE!" he shouted. I didn't know what was happening, probably because it was happening to fast…but this little douche was beating me up.

"FIGHT! FIGHT! FI-"

"WHAT THE _HECK _IS GOING ON?!" asked an angry male voice. Me and Percy looked up to see Mr. Brunner (wheelchair man). We quickly stood up. For some strange reason he helped me up. I slapped his hand after that. "There is no need for violence," said Mr. Brunner, with a disappointed look on his face. Percy was _obviously _sorry.

"Mr. Brunner, I'm so sorry. I'm sorry. I cannot believe how sorry I am." Percy Jackson: sorry machine. _Stupid prick. _"Tiffany? Is there anything you'd like to say?" asked Mr. Brunner. I looked away from the wall I was staring at. Everyone was looking at me. "Sorry." I mumbled. Percy glared at me. "Is that all you're gonna say?! 'Sorry'?!" "What else am I supposed to say?!" "Something a little bit-" "ENOUGH!" We stopped.

"I'm very disappointed in you two," he said. After that, he wheel-chaired away with the rest of the class. I was about the punch Percy until Mrs. Dodds interrupted me. "Now, honeys. Come with me," she said with one hand on my shoulder and the other on Percy's. I gave Mrs. Dodds a look. She always yelled at Percy. She never yelled at me _OR _Nancy. Something was definitely weird. "What the-!" Percy said. I would've said the same thing. Under 10 seconds, Mrs. Dodds was already standing at the museum entrance, way at the top of the steps, gesturing impatiently at us to come on.

How did she get there so fast?

Sometimes we (yes, I said "we") have moments like that a lot, when the brain falls asleep or something, and the next thing we know we've missed something. Thanks, ADHD.

I wasn't so sure.

We went after Mrs. Dodds. Halfway up the steps, I glanced back at Grover ('cause Percy was). He was looking pale, cutting his eyes between us and Mr. Brunner, like he wanted Mr. Wheelchair Man to notice what was going on, but he was absorbed in this novel he was reading.

I looked back up. Mrs. Dodds had disappeared again. She was now inside the building, at the end of the entrance hall. "What the hell?!" I said to myself.

We followed her deeper into the museum. When we finally caught up to her, we were back in the Greek Roman section.

Except for us, the gallery was empty.

Mrs. Dodds stood with her arms crossed in front of a big marble statue of the Greek gods. She was making this weird noise in her throat, like growling.

I was thinking how weird she was looking. I mean, she was kinda looking like a-

"You've been giving us problems, sweeties," she said. I decided to play along. "Yes, ma'am," Percy and I replied. She tugged on the cuffs of her leather jacket. "Did you really think you would get away with it?" she asked.

I looked up at her now. _DAYUM… _Her eyes were evil. Seriously, evil.

I didn't know what to say. Percy saved me.

"I'll…I'll try harder, ma'am."

Then thunder shook the buildings.

"We are not fools, Percy Jackson and Tiffany Martin," Mrs. Dodds said. "It was only a matter of time before we found you out. Confess, and you will suffer less pain."

This lady was obviously mental asylum material.

"Well?" she demanded.

"I…I don't…" I started to say.

"We…" Percy failed.

"You're time is up," she hissed.

Her eyes began to glow like barbecue coals. Her fingers stretched, turning into talons. Her jacket melted into large, leathery wings. She wasn't human/ She was a shriveled hag with bat wings and claws and a mouth full of yellow fangs, and she was about to kill us.

That wasn't the only thing that freaked us out.

Mr. Brunner, who was reading some totally gay book, wheeled his chair into the doorway of the gallery, holding a pen in his hand.

"What ho, children!" he shouted, and tossed a pen in the air.

Mrs. Dodds lunged at us.

I dodged her and felt talons slash the air next to my ear. Percy snatched the ballpoint pen out of the air, but it wasn't a pen anymore. It was a sword. Mr. Brunner's bronze sword, which he always used on tournament day (don't ask).

Mrs. Dodds spun toward us with a murderous look in her eyes.

"Die!"

And she flew straight at us.

"AHH!" I screamed. Percy swung the sword.

The metal blade hit her shoulder and passed clean through her body as if she were made of water.

Mrs. Dodds exploded into yellow powder, vaporized on the spot, leaving nothing but the smell of sulfur and a dying screech and a chill of evil in the air, as if those glowing red eyes were still watching us.

Then we were alone.

Mr. Brunner wasn't there. Nobody was there but us.

Percy's hands were trembling. I would be, too if I had just killed my pre-algebra teacher.

Had we imagined the whole thing?

We noticed everyone was outside so we walked out there. It was starting to rain.

Grover was sitting by the fountain, a museum map tented over his head. Nancy was standing there, grumbling to our friends. When she saw us, she said, "I hope Mrs. Kerr whipped your ass, Percy."

"WHO?!" We said in unison.

"Our _teacher_. Duh!"

We blinked. We had no teacher named Mrs. Kerr.

"What are you talking about?!" I asked.

She rolled her eyes. "Jeez, Tiff. Don't be a dumbass." And she started talking about how stupid Percy was. I didn't pay attention. I was busy eavesdropping on him and limpy.

Percy asked Grover where Mrs. Dodds was. "Who?" Grover replied. "Not funny, man," he told him. "This is serious."

Thunder boomed overhead.

"Come on," Percy said, grabbing my arm. I swear, Nancy was about to kill him. "It's okay." I said. We walked over to Mr. Brunner, who was sitting under his red umbrella, reading his gay novel, as if nothing had every happened.

"Ah, that would be my pen. Please bring your own writing utensil in the future, Mr. Jackson. I hope you and Miss Martin had a lovely chat."

He handed Mr. Brunner his pen.

"Sir, where is Mrs. Dodds?" he asked.

He stared blankly at us. "Who?

"The other chaperone. Mrs. Dodds. The pre-algebra teacher!" I said.

He frowned and sat forward, looking mildly concerned.

"Percy, Tiffany, there is no Mrs. Dodds on this trip. As far as I know, there was never been a Mrs. Dodds at Yancy Academy. You two were fighting pretty hard. Are you guys feeling all right?"

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A/N: GASP!!!! HE DIDN'T BELIEVE THEM!!!! OH EM GEE!!!! LOLZ. I NEED 5 REVIEWS TO UPDATE!!!! SO, PLEASE R&R! :)


	2. I'm Offered a Ride from Limpy

A/N: All right, so far I got TWO reviews (thank u, Harryfan94 and Asharza!). But, eh, I'll continue anyway. Lol. So, on with the story!

**Disclaimer: wait…do I have to do this…? Really? Well, anyhow, I don't own PJO.**

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Tiffany's POV

I ignored the thought at first, but I knew I was right.

Limpy lied to Percy and me.

Well, he didn't exactly tell me that Mrs. Dodds wasn't real, but it was pretty obvious that Grover was lying.

Anyway…

Percy (a.k.a. Pissy) had been cranky for the rest of the school year. He had been in many fights with my friends (not me for some strange reason), yelled at the teachers, get in trouble, etc.

He even called our English teacher, Mr. Nicoll an old sot. I have no idea what a "sot" is...

I got expelled. We both did. The headmaster sent our mom's a letter the following week, making it official: We would not be invited back next year to Yancy Academy.

Pshh, like I cared.

I was in my dorm room, vandalizing my school books. My roommates, whom I nicknamed Stinker-Bell and Dina-rrhea, had gone to the school library (to get away from me). I was bored. I had no one to talk to.

I walked out of the dorm silently and started going down the halls. This was my 1st AND last year at Yancy Academy. I kinda felt sad. I mean, I was gonna miss Nancy and our crew. They were my only true friends.

I walked down some more and noticed Pissy standing in front of a door. I walked over while saying, "Aren't you gonna-" He ran over to me and covered my mouth. He put a finger over his lips meaning "be quiet". I nodded and he put his hand down. He motioned over to the door (Mr. Brunner's Latin class) and motioned me to listen.

"Sir, they _saw _her…" I know that voice...Limpy!

"Their imaginations," Mr. Brunner insisted. "The Mist over the students and staff will be enough to convince them of that."

"Sir, I…I can't fail my duties again. You know what that would mean."

"You haven't failed, Grover. I should have seen her for what she was. Now let's just worry about keeping Percy and Tiffany alive until next fall-"

The book Percy was holding dropped out of his and and hit the floor.

_THUD!_

Silence.

He quickly picked up the book, grabbed my arm, and dragged me inside an empty room.

A few seconds later we heard a slow _clop-clop-clop., _like muffled wood blocks, then a sound like an animal snuffling right outside the door. A large, dark shape paused in front of the glass, then moved on.

We looked at each other nervously.

Somewhere in the hallway, Mr. Brunner spoke. "Nothing," he murmured. "My nerves haven't been right since the winter solstice."

"Mine neither," Limpy said. "But I could've sworn…"

"Go back to the dorm," Mr. Brunner told him. "You've got a long day of exams tomorrow."

"Ugh, don't remind me."

Then silence.

We waited in the dark for what seemed like forever.

"Come on," Percy said, opening the door.

We slipped out into the hallway.

We nodded "goodbye" and walked different paths in silence. I slipped into my dorm and sighed. I wanted to believe what we heard was our imagination.

But one thing was clear: Grover and Mr. Brunner were talking about us behind our backs. They thought we were in some kind of danger.

_The next day in Latin class…_

"…you're not normal, Percy. That's nothing to be-"

"Thanks," he blurted. "Thanks a lot, sir, for reminding me."

"Percy-"

Then the Latin class door opened.

"Hi," I said. I was getting a drink of water 15 minutes before. I was eavesdropping on him and Mr. Brunner.

He smiled weakly at me.

And walked away.

I frowned and walked inside the class, seeing Mr. Brunner with his face in his hands.

***

On the last day of the term, I packed all of my stuff into my suitcase.

The girls in the dorms (who are threatened by me) were chatting about their vacation plans. One was going to climb Mt. Everest; the other was going to surf in Hawaii. They were juvies like me. We were all rich. They asked me what I'd be doing this summer.

"Back to the city," I replied.

The year before, I went skydiving in the Andes. The year before that, I walked the Great Wall of China. And the year before that…

Eh, you get my point.

"Oh," one of the girls said. "Coolio."

She obviously said that. If she didn't, I'd turn her into a flat pancake. _Not like she isn't already, _I thought.

During the whole bus ride, I sat with Nancy. She talked about how she was going to miss her "partner in crime". I smiled and said we'll meet again. Percy glanced at me a couple of times, but we didn't start any conversation.

There was a huge grinding noise under out feet. Black smoke poured from the dashboard and the whole bus filled with a smell like rotten eggs (which make good apparatuses to throw at people). The driver cursed and drove the bus to the side of the highway.

After a few minutes clanking around in the engine compartment, the driver announced that we'd all have to get off.

Everyone got off the bus. I jumped onto the ground and stood next to Percy, complaining how hot it was.

On our side of the highway was nothing but maple trees and crap. On the other side, across four lanes of asphalt shimmering with afternoon heat, was an old-fashioned fruit stand.

I was starving! The stuff on sale looked really good: heaping boxes of blood-red cherries and apples, walnuts, apricots, jugs of cider in a tub full of ice… There were no customers, just three old ladies sitting in rocking chairs in the shade of a maple tree, knitting.

All three of the women looked ancient. They had pale faces wrinkled like fruit leather, silver hair tied back in white bandannas, bony arms sticking out of bleached cotton dresses.

And they were looking straight at me and Percy.

"Grover?" he asked Limpy. "Hey, man—"

"Tell me they're not looking at you two. They are, aren't they?"

"No shit, Sherlock," I said.

"Yeah. Weird, huh? You think those socks would fit me?" Percy added.

"Not funny, guys. Not funny at all."

The old lady in the middle took out a huge pair of scissors-gold and silver, long-bladed, like shears. Grover caught his breath.

"We're getting on the bus," he told us. "Come on."

"What?!" I said.

It's a thousand degrees in there!" Percy said.

"Come on!" He pried open the door and climbed inside, but we stayed back.

Across the road, the old ladies were still watching us. The middle one cut the yarn, and I swear I could hear that _snip _across four lanes of traffic. Her two friends balled up the electric-blue socks they were knitting.

At the rear of the bus, the driver wrenched a big chunk of smoking metal out of the engine compartment. The bus shuddered, and the engine roared back to life.

"YAY!" The others cheered.

"Damn right!" yelled the driver. He slapped the bus with his hat. "Everybody back on board!"

Once we got going, I started feeling feverish, as If I'd caught the flu (me: which sucks 'cause I missed the whole 2nd week of school thanks to the swine flu).

Grover didn't look much better (not like he does) and his teeth were chattering.

"Grover?" Percy asked

"Yeah?" he replied.

"What are you not telling us?"

He dabbed his forehead with his shirt sleeve. "Percy, Tiff, what did you see at the fruit stand?"

"You mean the old ladies?" I asked. He nodded.

"What is it about them, man? They're not like…Mrs. Dodds, are they?" Percy asked.

His expression was hard to read, but I got the feeling that the fruit-stand ladies were something much, much worse than Mrs. Dodds. He said, "Just me what you guys saw."

"Well, the middle one took out her scissors, and she cut the yarn," I said.

He closed his eyes and made a gesture with his fingers that might've been crossing himself, but it wasn't. It was something else, something almost—older.

"You saw her snip the cord," he said.

"Yeah. So?" Percy asked.

"This is not happening," Grover mumbled. He started chewing his thumb. "I don't want this to be like the last time."

"What last time?" I said.

"Always 9th grade. They never get past 9th."

"Grover," Percy said. Limpy was starting to freak me out. "What are you talking about?!"

"Let me walk you home from the bus station. I'm talking to Percy not _you. _Promise me."

"Why not Tiffany?"

"Because I don't…Never mind. Tiffany, too."

"What?" I said. I was not going home with Limpy.

"Grover—the snipping of the yarn. Does that mean somebody's gonna die?" Percy asked.

He looked at us mournfully, like he was already picking the kind of flowers we'd like best for our coffins.

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A/N: heh. Please r&r. thanks! :)


	3. I Give Away Money to Percy

A/N: Please, R&R. Thanks! :)

**Disclaimer: I don't own PJO…DARN…**

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Tiffany's POV

Grover's bladder acted up. I know. Whenever he got upset, it would. I wasn't surprised when, as soon as we got off the bus, he promised _Percy (_'cause apparently he didn't like he) to wait fir him, then ran to the restroom.

I was holding on the handle of my suitcase, trying to get a taxi. This is what happens when you live in New York. "TAX-" _Whoosh! _"I…" I said to myself. I noticed Percy trying to get a cab. "TAXI!" he shouted. Then a yellow/black cab stopped. Wow, how is a girl supposed to get a ride? I stood there in the heat of summer. I was wearing a black long-sleeved shirt with jeans and my Nike Mary Janes. I was literally burning up.

I turned my back to get a drink of water but a hesitant tap on my shoulder stopped me. I turned around. It was Percy.

He looked nervous. "You…I mean…uh….you wanna…."

I rolled my eyes. "Spit it out."

He sighed. "Wanna ride with me?" he asked.

I swear I could feel my mouth open.

"_WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY, PISSY?!" _

"Fine, if you don't wanna-"

"Sure!" I said. Hey, I couldn't get a cab and here was my only chance.

He gaped at me.

I mimicked him. "What?"

"Nothing…" he said. He took my suitcase (the gentleman, really) and put it in the trunk of the cab. His was already in there. He opened the door for me (freaky. I think he's on drugs).

"Uh…" I said, but got in before he could say anything. He got in and sat on the lather seat beside me.

"Please go to this address," I said. Then I told him my address.

The cab driver whistled. "Wow, that place is expensive," he said, smoking his cigarette. I rolled my eyes. Yeah, I'm _first-class _but I wasn't one of those girly, popular, nice girls who spent their money on everything they saw (think _Confessions of a Shopaholic, Gossip Girl, _and_ The Clique). _I tried to read the driver's name-tag but since I had dyslexia it was more like this:

J SH A KEN LI G

"You can drive now, uh…Mr.-" I started to say.

"Josh. Joshua Kenneling."

"Okay, Mr. Kenneling." I replied. I gave Percy a _what the hell _look and he gave me an _I know _one back.

The driver didn't really talk to us. He just smoked on his cigarette, honked the horn, and yelled at passing cars.

Ahh, same old New York.

Anyway…

We eventually made it to my house (mansion…whatever). Percy's eyes were glued to it. I mean, it's just a huge house with a pool, tennis court, basketball court, golf course-

Well, you get the point.

"You're total is $30.58," the driver said. If you're just wondering, I live 10 minutes away from Pissy. I took out my wallet and gave the driver a hundred. He and Percy were glued to it. The driver gave me $69.12. I took the two dimes and 2 pennies and threw them into the street. Okay, who uses them? I looked at the three 20s, one 5, and four 1s.

"Here," I said, handing Percy my twenties. He gaped at me.

"You're serious, right?" he asked.

I shrugged. "Uh, yeah." I said.

He looked confused. "Uh, thanks. I think."

I smirked. "No prob, Pissy."

He scoffed. I got out of the cab, got my suitcase, and waved to the taxi (I put his cigarette ashes in his coffee when he wasn't looking). I tuned around and walked to my house (mansion…whatever) not giving a glance back.

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A/N: All right, I know this was kinda badly written and short…but im busy…just please r&r. thanks. :)


	4. A Burning Torch Floats Above My Head

A/N: Heyy, guys. Just so you know I'm not a geek who types like this all the time (I do this to avoid flames). Lol. Well, please R&R. Thanks.

**Disclaimer: Okay, I'm not gonna do this anymore….I DON'T OWN PJO.**

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_A few days later…_

Tiffany's POV

"Tiffany?" said a female voice. I was in my colossal bedroom, watching MTV's _Jackass. _Hey, it's funny.

"Yeah, mom?" I asked, turning off the TV. My mom said it wasn't "appropriate for young women". Pshh, whatever!

"Dear, would you like to go to summer camp?" she asked, nervously.

I started laughing. "Ha, summer camp…with geeks and nerds and people who don't have lives and…hahaha, mom you are HILARIOUS!" I stopped and looked at her face. Oh, snap. She was serious.

"No." I said.

"No, what?"

"No, I will not go to summer camp."

"Please, Tiffany…"

"I don't want to go!"

"It's only for three months."

"Oh, yeah…._only_."

"Tiff."

"Do I have to?"

"Yes."

"Fine…"

"Good," she said, pecking my cheek. I wiped it away.

"We leave in 30 minutes," she said before walking out the door. I groaned. _Noooooooooo. _I got up, fed up with my mother and re-packed my suitcase.

Summer camp, huh? Sounds like fun.

"Are we there yet, Joseph?" asked my mother to our limo driver. Yes, I know, it sounds very cliché but that's what happens when you're rich. You have a driver. "All most there, Mrs. Martin," replied Joseph. I sighed. I started to start a conversation with my mother. "Yo, mom, what's the camp called?" "Young women do not use the word 'yo'." "Too late." "Theophania Olivia Martin!" Oh, snap. She did _not _just use my real name. "I'm sorry," I managed to say. She nodded. "Good." "So what's it called? "What is what called?" Appparently, she did not like my attitude and refused to tell me the name of the summer camp.

"We're here, Mrs. Martin," said the driver. My mom clapped her hands together with a smile on her face. Okay, this woman really made me pissed off. She acted like one of the moms in _Gossip Girl. _Not that I watch it…or anything…

We got out of the limo. "Here's your suitcase, miss," said the driver, handing me my suitcase. "Thanks, Joe." I said. My mom hugged me and said I'd have a great time here. I shrugged and said I didn't care.

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"Uh, what did I just digest?" I asked, just finished eating a mysterious food item. The brown-haired girl (that greeted me as I walked inside the farm) smirked. "Ambrosia," she simply replied. I gave her a strange look. Ambrosia was is my little-cousins name…coincidence? I hope so.

"So, what kind of camp is this?" I asked, eating some more. She flipped her hair. _Weird. _

"This is a special camp for demigods. Welcome to Camp Half-Blood," she said. _Weirder. _

I finished digesting the ambrosia. "Okay, so, I'm a demigod?" I asked. This girl was totally a nutcase. _Weirdest! _

She nodded. "Yes, but you are undetermined," she said as if I could understand what she was talking about. I just nodded slowly. She showed me around the camp. There were volleyball courts, archery places, etc. _Pretty cool, _I thought. _Although I'm still confused. _

"Uh, yo, uh…" I didn't know her name.

"Annabeth," she said with a smile on her face. _I'm gonna smack that smile off your face… _

"Yeah…so…I'm still confused…" I said. _Fuck this, I'm want some Dr. Pepper. _She patted my on the shoulder. I had the urge to slap it away, but I figured I'll get her later.

"It's okay. I felt like that, too when I found out I was a half-blood. Just go talk to Chiron," she explained. What the hell was with the Greek Mythology?! She pointed at a tall figure behind me. I turned around and rubbed my eyes. That was Chiron who trained Hercules!

"Uh, uh, uh…" I was speechless (metaphorically). Chiron smiled. He looked familiar…

"Mr. Brunner?!" I shouted. My friggin' Latin teacher is CHIRON. WTF?!! Chiron (Mr. Brunner, whatever) was still smiling. "Come along, Theophania. I shall speak to you in the Big House," he said, galloping (he had goat legs…freaky) to a huge Greek house. I followed. There was one question that was bugging me at the moment: _How the hell did he know my real name?!_

_

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"Uh, orange really isn't my color…" I said, tugging onto the orange Camp Half-Blood t-shirt. Since I was "undetermined" (which meant that the people at Camp-Half blood do not know my Greek god/goddess parent), I had to stay with the cabin Hermes. I was offered to stay with the Aphrodite cabin (*shudders*) but I politely (not really) declined. There was a new guy in the Hermes cabin, too but I didn't see him yet.

Luke (me: he's alive!), who is the lead counselor in the Hermes cabin, laughed. "You'll get used to it," he said. I groaned. I hate the color orange. Luke was 19. He had blond hair and blue eyes. He was one of the good looking guys I've ever seen.

"Guys, come quick! Annabeth's all wet and she's STILL hot!" shouted a male standing in the doorway of the cabin. All the males (except for Luke, he was taking care of a little kid) in the Hermes cabin quickly got out.

"Um, can I leave? I mean, are you okay with it?" I asked, pointing to the door with my thumb. I was NOT going to check Annabeth out. He was the only guy (the trheee little kids did not count) in the cabin. It would be kinda awkward...

He nodded and smiled. "Go ahead. I'll be fine." How was he going to be fine? There were like 3 little kids crying right now.

I nodded.

"All right. See ya, Luke." I said, walking out the door. _*squeal* He is so freaking hot…what the hell? You do NOT associate with boys, Tiff, You beat 'em up… _

I walked around the camp, ignoring hellos I got from the other campers. Summer vacation so far: FAIL, FAIL, FAIL! Oh, did I say fail yet? Well, I'll say it again: FAIL!!!

"'Sup?" said a voice behind me. I turned around and saw a tall, muscular girl with brown hair. "Hey," I replied. She had 2 other friends behind her. "We're about to get revenge from this guy, but we don't know what to do. We're thinking of a plan. Care to join?" she asked. I smirked.

"Sure."

I guess summer won't be as bad after all.

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"…Son of the Sea God," announced Mr. Brunner…er…Chiron. We had just finished playing Capture the Flag. I wasn't really playing; I just sat on the grass and watched people beat up each other.

"What's happening?" I asked Clarisse (the girl that asked me if I wanted to help her get revenge). She scoffed. "The guy we were about to get revenge on is the son of Poseidon," she explained. I nodded and tried to see him through the crowd. My eyes widened.

"No, no, no, no, no!" I said, over and over.

"What's wrong?" Clarisse asked.

I groaned. "I know that dude. He's, like, my enemy!" I said, louder than it should have been. The crowd and Chiron looked at me.

"Tiffany Martin?!!" shouted Percy.

Bingo! I saw Percy Jackson.

"He knows her?" "She knows _him_?" "She's actually kinda hot." "True dat." "Uh, what are we looking at?"

The crowd kept talking and talking. Then they stopped. Clarisse's jaw dropped. I gave her a look.

"What?" I asked. The campers here were starting to piss me off.

Percy walked closer to me and gasped.

"Will someone just tell me what's going on?!" I asked really mad right now.

Percy gulped. "Look up," he said.

And I did.

There was a spirit-like image above my head. It was a burning torch. I gulped, too.

Chiron came closer and announced, "It is determined."

The Ares cabin grinned and high-fived each other.

"Oh, snap," I heard Annabeth say (obviously not the type to cuss).

"My dad's…" I couldn't say it. I was surprised.

"Ares," said Chiron. "God of war and bloodshed. Hail, Theophania Martin, Daughter of the War God."

I bit my lower lip and looked at Percy.

He was actually surprised.

* * *

A/N: Please review for comments/questions/tips. :)


	5. I'm Ignored

**a/n: im super-super-super sorry I didn't update. We had iowa testing week so yeah. you know when tiffany arrives? Let's just say she arrived at the same time percy did but they didn't notice each other. And tiffany's mom…wasn't her mom. It was someone else…well, that's all im gonna say! And someone (im not gonna say who) stole my story's name (the lost goddess part). okay, seriously? Un-cool. I hope ur reading this cause u don't kno how super pissed I am. i hope u change the title or I'll seriously find you and hunt you down (maybe…I have my ways). Well, plz read and review!**

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Tiffany's POV

"WHAT THE HELL?!!!" I shouted, gripping a newspaper article.

**KIDS MISSING INCLUDING ONE OF THEIR MOTHERS**

**BY EILEEN SMYTHE**

Sally Jackson, son Percy, and one of Percy's classmates named Tiffany Martin are still missing one week after their mysterious disappearance. There was a badly burned '78 Camaro that was discovered last Saturday on a north Long Island road with the roof ripped off and the front axle broken. The car had flipped and skidded for several hundred feet before exploring

Mother and son had gone for a weekend vacation to Montauk, but left hastily, under mysterious circumstances. Small trances of blood were found in the car, but there were no other signs of the missing Jackson.

Tiffany Martin's mother claims that her daughter was kidnapped by imposters dressed like her. Before the kidnapping, Tiffany Martin came home on a Friday, expelled, and the imposter was in her house. Police say that her mother was not there at the time. She was out "shopping for clothes for he lovely daughter".

Family limo-driver, Joseph, said he dropped teen Tiffany Martin off at around 4:30pm. He also said the imposter then turned into green smoke.

Ms. Jackson's husband, Gabe Ugliano, claims that his stepson, Percy Jackson, and Tiffany Martin are troubled children who have been kicked out of numerous boarding schools and expressed violent tendencies in the past. According to Ugliano, he had met his stepson's classmate once. He did not want to tell us the event.

Police would not say whether son Percy is a suspect to his mother's disappearance, but they have not ruled out foul play. The police also think daughter Tiffany is behind this, too.

"It's not coincidence," said Chief Harold, NY PD. "How could two former classmates be at the same place at the same time? They're juvenile delinquents. Things like this _could _happen."

Below are recent pictures of Sally Jackson, Percy, and Tiffany Martin. Police urge anyone with information to call the following toll-free crime-stoppers hotline.

Someone had circled the number in black marker multiple times.

"Percy, how did you-" I started to say.

"I found it in my cabin," he said miserably.

Percy wasn't exactly hated by the people at camp, but he wasn't very well-liked either. Ever since everyone found out he was the son of Poseidon, they ran away from him.

"I can't believe it. That wasn't my mother," I said, shocked.

He grabbed the newspaper away from me.

"Everyone hates me!" he shouted, angrily.

"No, they don't…"

"_Yes, _they freaking _do! _No one wants to associate with me. They all want me to go back to NYC. Look, they circled the number a _shit _load of times. The only person who I've been having conversations with is _you," _he said.

He chuckled.

"Me, hanging out with the enemy," he said softly with disbelief.

I would always make a snappy comeback but right now I was speechless. Clarisse and our half-relatives were TP-ing other cabins. It was kind of awkward being alone with a guy in an empty cabin.

I looked at the clock that was hanging on the cabin wall.

12:36am.

"It's late," I said really softly.

_No shit, Sherlock. _

He couldn't have heard me. I said it so soft, it was inaudible.

He stood there, shuffled his feet for a couple a seconds, and walked towards the door.

"See ya, Tiff," he said, opening the cabin door.

He paused and turned around.

"Thanks," he said.

"For what?" I asked, obviously confused.

That was probably the third time I had spoken.

He smiled.

"Just for listening to me. I know you hate me but-"

"I don't _hate _you. It's just that your face is _so _attractive I don't wanna see it everyday."

He rolled his eyes.

"_Of course._"

I smiled.

"I'm not just a pretty face," he joked.

"Not _even _a pretty face!" I laughed.

We chuckled.

"So, I'll see you in the morning?"

If that was a declarative sentence I would've said, "'Kay. Bye."

But it wasn't.

He was asking me if we could meet again.

"It's morning, and we're meeting. Wow, you're slow, Jackson."

He rolled his eyes again.

"You know what I mean."

I smirked.

"I know."

"So…?"

"Yeah, sure. Now leave before Clarisse and the gang come back."

He groaned as is if he didn't want to leave.

"All right. Good morning, Tiff," he said with a smart-allecky tone in his voice.

I chuckled and closed the door as he walked out.

"Good morning, Percy," I said softly to myself.

* * *

(you guys know the setting)

"Wait, wait, wait. Lemme get this straight: the gods think Prissy stole Zeus' lightning bolt?" I said.

"That is what Zeus thinks," Chiron repeated for the second time.

"But I've never even been to Olympus! Zeus is crazy!"

Chiron and Grover glanced nervously at the sky. The clouds didn't seem to be parting around us. They were rolling straight over our valley, sealing us in like a coffin lid.

"Er, Percy…we don't use the c-word to describe the Lord of the Sky," Grover said, nervously.

"Crazy? You heard that, Zeus. Pissy called you CRAZY!" I shouted to the sky.

Loud cackles of thunder started booming.

"Thanks, Bee," Percy said, sarcastically.

My nickname for his was Pissy (since he was angry/aggressive most of the time) and his nickname for me was Bee. "B" as in "bitch".I kinda liked that nickname. Don't ask me why. It was much better than "Douche McFuck." Sometimes I wonder how he makes up these names…

"But I'm just a kid!" he said.

"We're freaking teenagers," I said.

Grover said something to him but the only thing I heard was, "Wouldn't that put a twist in your toga?"

"But I didn't do anything. Poseidon—my dad—he didn't really have this master bolt stolen, did he?"

Thanks to my attention deficit disorder, I didn't really pay attention to what they had said.

"…Then it's time you consulted the Oracle," Chiron said.

That got my attention.

"Go upstairs, Percy, to the attic. And take Tiffany with you (Grover: But Chiron—! Chiron: Please, I know what I'm doing.) When you come back down, assuming the both of you are still sane, we will talk more."

I was about to complain to Chiron that I didn't really say anything but Mr. D pushed me up the stairs with Percy.

* * *

"Son of a god..." I said to myself.

Four flights up, the stairs ended under a green trapdoor.

Percy pulled the cord (Smart move, Einstein). The door swung down, and a wooden ladder clattered into place.

The warm air from above smelled like mildew and rotten wood and snakes (don't ask how I know).

We climbed.

The attic was filled with Greek hero junk: armor stands covered in cobwebs; once-bright shields pitted with rust; old leather steamer trunks plastered with stickers saying _Ithaka, Circe's Isle, _and _Land of the Amazons. _One long table was stacked with glass jars filled with parts of monsters (Sweetness!). A dusty mounted trophy on the wall looked like a giant snake's head, but with horns and a full set of shark's teeth. The plaque read, HYDRA HEAD (NUMBER)1, WOODSTOCK, NY, 1969.

By the window, sitting on a wooden tripod stool, was the most gruesome memento of all: a mummy. Not the wrapped-in-a-cloth kind, but a human female body shriveled to a husk. She wore a tie-dyed sundress, lots of beaded necklaces, and a headband over long black hair. The skin of her face was thin and leathery over her skull, and her eyes were glassy white slits, as if the real eyes had been replaces by marbles; she had been dead for a freaking long time.

Looking at her sent chills up my back (Shocker!). And that was before she sat up on her stool and opened her mouth. A green mist poured from the mummy's mouth, coiling over the floor in thick tendrils, hissing like 20,000 snakes. Percy stumbled over himself trying to get to the trapdoor, but it slammed shut. Inside our heads, we head a voice, slithering into one ear and coiling down our brains: _I am the spirit Delphi, speaker of the prophecies of Phoebus Apollo, slayer of the mighty Python. Approach, seekers, and ask. _

I was tempted to say, "We're you always this ugly?" but I forced myself not to.

The mummy wasn't alive. She was some kind of gruesome receptacle for something else, the power that was now swirling around us in the green mist. But its presence didn't feel evil, like Mrs. Dodds. It felt more like the Three Fates we had seen knitting the yarn outside the highway fruit stand: ancient, powerful, and obviously not human. But not particularly interested in killing us either.

Percy got the courage to ask, "What's our destiny?"

The mist swirled more thickly, collecting right in front of us and around the table with the monster-part jars. Suddenly there were five men sitting around the table, playing cards. I recognized one face: Percy's step dad Gabe.

His fists clenched.

Gabe turned toward us and spoke in the rasping voice of the Oracle: _The both of you shall go west, and face the god who has turned. _

Gabe's buddy on the right looked up and said in the same voice: _The both of you shall find what was stolen. And see it safely returned. _

The guy on the left threw in poker chips, then said: _You both shall be betrayed by one who calls you friend._

The guy who sat beside the 1st dude: _An alliance will be made, and in the future something more. _

Finally, the last person said the worst line of all: _And one of you shall fail to save what matters most, in the end. _

The figures began to dissolve. I was stunned to say anything. As the mist retreated, coiling into a huge green serpent, slithering back into the mouth of the mummy, Percy cried, "Wait! What do you mean? What friend? What will I fail to save?"

Okay, he called dibs on failing.

The tail of the mist snake disappeared into the mummy's mouth. She reclined back against the wall. Her mouth closed tight, as if it hadn't been open in a hundred years. The attic was silent again, abandoned, nothing but a room full of mementos.

We both got the feeling that we could stand here until we both had cobwebs, too, and we wouldn't learn anything else.

Our audience with the Oracle was over.

* * *

"…Anything else?" Chiron asked.

We both didn't want to tell him.

What friend would betray us? The only friends I probably had was the Ares' cabin, Percy (maybe?), Grover (I think), and Annabeth (don't tell her I said this. She'll seriously think I'm her new best friend).

"No, that's about it," Percy said.

He studied our faces. "Very well. But know this: the Oracle's words often have double meanings. Don't dwell on them too much. The truth is not always clear until events come to pass."

I had a feeling he was trying to make us feel better.

"Uh…" I couldn't think of any topic to talk about.

"So where do we go? Who's the god in the west?"

"Ah, think Percy," Chiron said.

_Good luck with that, _I thought.

"If Zeus and Poseidon weaken each other in a war, who stands to gain?"

"Obviously Hades," I said.

Chiron nodded.

Woohoo! Tiffany Martin: 1. Percy Jackson: 0.

"The Lord of the Dead is the only possibility," Chiron said.

A scrap of aluminum dribbled out of Grover's mouth.

"Whoa, wait, What?!"

"A Fury came after the both of them," Chiron reminded him. "She watched the both of them until she was sure out of their identities, then tried to kill them. Furies obey only one lord: Hades."

"Yes, but—Hades hates _all _heroes," Grover protested. "Especially if he has found out Percy is a son of Poseidon…"

I didn't listen to the rest of the conversation because apparently it was Percy this and Percy that and not Tiffany…I mean, _hello. _I'm _right here. _

Percy groaned.

"Great, that's two major gods who want to kill me," he said.

"_Us," _I said.

"But a quest to…" Grover swallowed. "I mean, couldn't the master bolt be in some place like Maine? Maine's very nice this time of year."

"Maine's freaking queer!" I replied.

"Hades sent a minion to steal the master bolt," Chiron insisted. "He hid it in the Underworld, knowing full well that Zeus would blame Poseidon. I don't pretend to understand the Lord of the Dead's motives perfectly, or why he chose this time to start a war, but one thing is certain. Percy—"

"Ahem…" I said.

"—and Tiffany must go to the Underworld, find the master bolt, and reveal the truth."

"Yay. What a great way to start summer vacation," I said sarcastically.

"Look, if we know it's Hades," I told Chiron, "why can't we just tell the other gods? Zeus or Poseidon could go down to the Underworld and kick some ass."

"Suspecting and knowing are not the same," Chiron said. "Besides, even if the other gods suspect Hades—and I imagine Poseidon does—they couldn't retrieve the bolt themselves. Gods cannot cross each other's territories except by invitation. That is another ancient rule. Heroes, on the other hand, have certain privileges. They can go anywhere; challenge anyone, as long as they're bold enough and strong enough to do it. No god can be held responsible for a hero's actions. Why do you think the gods always operate through humans?"

"How am I a hero? Wait, Pissy's a hero?!!" I interrupted.

"Yeah…" Percy said.

"What?! Then why am I on this freaking quest?!"

"You're the first daughter of Ares," Chiron explained.

"I thought it was Clarisse," I said.

"Nope."

"Huh…so I'm going on this quest because I'm the first daughter of Ares?" I asked.

"Because you and Percy have been I nthe same situations."

"I feel like I've been stalked…"

"You've known I was Poseidon's son all along, haven't you?" Percy asked, looking at Chiron.

"I had my suspicions. As I said…I've spoken to the Oracle, too."

"So lemme get this straight," Percy said. "I'm supposed…we're supposed to go to the Underworld and confront the Lord of the Dead."

"Check," Chiron said.

"Find the most powerful weapon in the universe."

"Check."

"And get it back to Olympus before the summer solstice, in ten days."

"That's about right."

We both looked at Grover who finished swallowing the ace of hearts.

"Did I mention that Maine is very nice this time of year?" he asked, weakly.

"Did _I_ mention that this is a great way to start summer vacation?" I asked sarcastically.

"You don't have to go, Grover," Percy told him. "I can't ask that of you."

"Oh…" He shifted his hooves. "No…it's just that satyrs and underground places…well…"

He took a deep breath, then stood, brushing the shredded cards and aluminum bits off his T-shirt. "You saved my life, Percy. If…if you're serious about wanting me along, I won't let you down."

I rolled my eyes.

"All the way, G-man." He turned to Chiron. "So where do we go? The Oracle just said to go west."

"The entrance to the Underworld is always in the west. It moves from age to age, just like Olympus. Right now, of course, it's in America."

"Where?" Percy asked.

I rolled my eyes.

"Obviously LA. I mean, what's another populated city other than NYC?" I said.

Percy shrugged.

"I dunno. Maybe Orlando," he replied.

"Pshh."

"Anyway, we'll just get on a plane—"

"No!" Grover shrieked. "Percy, what are you _thinking_?! Have you ever been on a plane in your _life_?"

He shook his head, obviously embarrassed.

_Ha, Loser._

"Percy, think," Chiron said. Wow, why doesn't he say 'Tiffany' for a freaking change? "You are the son of the Sea God. You're father's bitterest rival is Zeus, Lord of the Sky. Your mother knew better than to trust you in an airplane. You would be in Zeus's domain. You would never come down again alive."

Overhead, lighting crackled. Thunder boomed.

"Okaaay," he replied. "So I'll…_we'll_ travel overland."

"That's right," Chiron said. "Three companions may accompany you. Grover is one. Tiffany is another. And the third person has already volunteered, if you will accept her help."

"Gee," he said, feigning surprise. "Who else would be stupid enough to volunteer for a quest like this?"

The air shimmered behind Chiron.

Annabeth became visible, stuffing her Yankees cap into her back pocket.

_Bitch. Go Red Sox!_

"I've been waiting a long time for a quest, seaweed brain," she said. I rolled my eyes. My nickname for him was _so _much better. "Athena is no fan of Poseidon, but if you're going to save the world, I'm the best person to keep you from messing up."

I scoffed.

"Yeah, _right. _I'm obviously the best person yo keep him from messing up!" I said.

"Nuh-uh."

"Yeah-huh."

"Nuh-uh."

"Yeah-h—"

"Anyway…I suppose you have a plan, wise girl?" he asked Annabeth.

Her cheeks colored. "Do you want my help or not?"

Obviously he did. I mean, who would not want a hot brunette (a/n: she is in the movie!)to be on a quest with them? I didn't want her to come along because she thought she was _all that. _

"A quartet," he said. "I guess that'll work."

"Excellent," Chiron said. "This afternoon, we can take you as far as the bus terminal in Manhattan. After that, you are on your own."

Lightning flashed. Rain poured down on the meadows that were never supposed to have violent weather.

"No time to waste," Chiron said. "I think you should all get packing."

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**A/N: Please read & review!!! (: follow me on twitter: www (dot) twitter (dot) com/lilynotflower. yeah, i can't believe I made one. **


	6. I Use My Vanilla Softlips Chapstick

**A/N: Heh…okay…imma gonna change a little thing…in this chapter percy, tiffany, annabeth, grover, etc are 14 and the setting is ****The Titan's Curse.**** in the first chapters I made them 14 already but it turned out to be complicated. Plz read & review!**

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_Winter Break_

Tiffany's POV

It has been two years since Percy and I found out we were demi-gods. He was the son of Poseidon and I was the daughter of Ares.

Our first adventure happened when we were both 12. Zeus had lost his lightning bolt and blamed it on Percy. He, I, Grover (Percy's best friend who's a satyr), and Annabeth (my enemy but she thinks we're friends) were on a quest to search for it all across America. We had lunch with Medusa, almost got killed in beds, dropped down _there _to say 'sup to Hades, kinda destroyed the St. Louis Arch, had a huge fight with my immortal dad Ares (he had forbidden me to be friends and/or be _more _than friends with Pissy. *shudders* SICK!), recovered the lightning bolt (my dad had stolen it. That bastard!), had a chat with Zeus and Poseidon (Percy's dad thought we had a "thing". EVEN SICKER!), and came back to Camp Half-Blood as heroes. Oh, did I mention we found out our guy friend, Luke is a traitor?

Pretty amazing, huh?

Our second adventure happened when we were both 13. Grover was captured by a Cyclops while on his quest to search for Pan. To make a long story short, it was Clarisse's quest this time, we defeated the Cyclops, found out Percy's half-brother is a Cyclops (his name is Tyson and he called me and Annabeth pretty. EVEN _SICKER!!!_), had a weird conversation about hummus, found Grover (in a wedding dress *snicker*), defeated the Cyclops, and came home as losers. But other than that Annabeth, Percy, and I won the chariot race. _And _she kissed his cheek (_EVEN SICKER!!!)_. And did you know that girl that turned into a tree? She's not a tree anymore, thanks to the Golden Fleece. Her name's Thalia. We're best friends now.

Percy and I made a truce. We're not friends but we're not enemies. We're frenemies. He's been giving me glances every now and then. He does it to Annabeth, too, but mostly towards me.

He's such a freak.

Anyway, we're 14 now. Almost high-schoolers **(a/n: according to the books. man, it's so confusing!).** We were old enough to take interest in each other. I mean, not like we _did. _He fixed the way he dressed and left his hair a little bit messy. He wore a simple t-shirt with jeans and Nikes. He didn't wear his pants like other guys did (Thank Zeus!). He was probably fixing his appearance because he developed a small crush on Annabeth (I _think. _I hope I'm _wrong_). I don't know why, but he was kind of good-looking now.

Annabeth, Thalia, Percy, and I are inside Percy's mom's Mazda right now. Annabeth was riding shotgun, I was sitting at the middle, Percy sat at my left, and Thalia sat at my right.

It had been and eight-hour drive from NY to Bar Harbor, Maine. Sleet and snow pounded the highway. Annabeth, Thalia, Percy, and I hadn't seen each other in months, but between the blizzard and the thought of what we were about to do, we were too nervous to talk much. Except for Percy's mom. I mean, does she ever _shut up? _She had told us a hilarious baby story about Percy. It was freaking _priceless. _

Thalia wiped the fog off the car window and peered outside. "Oh, yeah. This'll be fun."

Westover Hall looked like an evil knight's castle. It was all black stone, with towers and slit windows and a big set of wooden double doors. It stood on a snowy cliff overlooking this big frosty forest on one side and this gray churning ocean on the other.

"Are you sure you don't want me to wait?" Percy's mom asked.

"No, thanks, Mom," he said. "I don't know how long it'll take. We'll be okay."

"But how will you get back?" I'm worried, Percy."

I started snickering. His face was blushing madly.

"It's okay, Ms. Jackson." Annabeth smiled reassuringly.

_Bitch, _I thought.

Her brown (**a/n: according to the movie!)** hair was tucked into a ski cap and her gray eyes were the same color as the ocean.

I checked my reflection on the window. I mean, my hazel eyes were okay. Annabeth's eyes were beautiful, though. I cursed at myself for comparing our looks.

"We'll keep him out of trouble," Annabeth added.

His mom seemed to relax a little.

"All right, dears," his mom said. "Do you have everything you need?"

"Yes, Ms. Jackson," Thalia said.

"Thanks for the ride, Ms. J," I said.

"Extra sweaters? You have my cell phone number?"

"Mom—"

"Your ambrosia and nectar, Percy? And a golden drachma in case you need to contact camp?"

"Mom, seriously! We'll be fine. Come on, guys."

We followed him outside. The wind blew straight to my North Face coat like daggers. I fixed my black hat and tugged on my black scarf. It was _freezing. _

Once his mom's car was out of sight, Thalia said, "Your mom is so cool, Percy."

"She's pretty okay," Percy admitted, rubbing his hands together. "What about you? You ever get in touch with your mom?

That wasn't a very smart question.

"If that was any of your business, Percy—"

"Uh, we'd better get inside," I interrupted. "Limpy will be waiting."

Thalia looked at the castle and shivered. "You're right. I wonder what he found here that made him send the distress call."

Percy stared up at the dark towers of Westover Hall. "Nothing good," he guessed.

* * *

The oak doors groaned open, and the four of us stepped into the entry hall in a swirl of snow.

Percy and I said in unison, "Whoa."

The place was _huge. _The walls were lined with battle flags and weapon displays: antique rifles, battle axes, and a bunch of other stuff.

I right hand went into my jacket's pocket. I took out a Vanilla Softlips chapstick and a Strawberry Softlips chapstick.

At least, that's what they look like.

The vanilla one turned into a sword and the strawberry one turned into a spear. I mean, if I wasn't in danger I could use the chapstick and put it on my lips. It never ran out. It was kind of like Percy's ballpoint pen, Riptide. Riptide could turn into a three-foot bronze sword. I remembered the first time he got it.

"_Wow, a pen. I've always wanted one," Percy said sarcastically. _

I chuckled remembering that moment. I suddenly remembered the first time I got the chapsticks.

"_Uh, Chiron. I think I have plenty of chapstick at home," I said. _

_He smiled._

"_Open them."_

_And I did._

I could already sense something wrong in this place. Something dangerous. Thalia was rubbing her silver bracelet, her favorite magical item. Percy put his hand in his pocket where Riptide was. I knew the three of us were thinking the same thing. A fight was coming.

I put the strawberry chapstick back into my pocket and started butting the vanilla one on my lips.

Hey, my lips are chapped in the winter.

I quickly put it away.

Annabeth started to say, "I wonder where—"

The doors slammed shut behind us.

"Oo-kay," Percy mumbled. "Guess we'll stay awhile."

We stashed our overnight bags behind a pillar and started down the hall. We hadn't gone very far when I head footsteps on the stone floor, and a man and woman marched out of the shadows to intercept us.

They both had short gray hair and black military-style uniforms with red trim. The woman had a wispy mustache (heh), and the guy was clean-shaven, which was kinda vice versa-ish to me. They both walked stiffly, like they had broomsticks taped to their spines.

"Well?" the woman demanded. "What are you doing here?"

"Um…" Percy managed to say. Obviously, he hadn't planned for this.

I cleared my throat and said, "Ma'am we're just—"

"Ha!" the man snapped, which made Percy jump. "Visitors are not allowed at the dance! You shall be _eee-jected!" _

I smiled to myself because he had an accent.

Thalia stepped forward and did something very, very _cool. _

She snapped her fingers. The sound was sharp and loud.

"Oh, but we're not visitors, sir," Thalia said. "We go to school here. You remember: I'm Thalia. And this is Annabeth, Percy, and Tiffany. We're in the eighth grade."

The male teacher narrowed his two-colored eyes (one brown and one blue).

He looked at his colleague. "Ms. Gottschalk, do you know these students?"

Percy and I looked at ach other with the same thought. A teacher named _Got Chalk? _HA!

The woman blinked, like someone had just woken her up from a trance. "I…yes. I believe I do, sir." She frowned at us. "Annabeth. Thalia. Percy. Tiffany. What are you doing away from the gymnasium?"

Before we could answer, I heard footsteps and Grover ran up, breathless. "You made it! You—"

He stopped short when he saw the teachers. "Oh, Mrs. Gottschalk. Dr. Thorn! I, uh—"

"What _is _it, Mr. Underwood?" said the man. He obviously detested Grover. "What do you mean, they made it? These students live here."

Grover swallowed and said something about the punch.

Dr. Thorn glared at us.

Mrs. Gottschalk said dreamily, "Yes, the punch is excellent. Now run along, all of you. You're not to leave the gymnasium again!"

Grover hustled us down the hall in the direction of the music. He hurried us to a door that had GYM written on the glass. Yeah, I could read it even if I was dyslexic.

"That was _close_!" Grover said. "Thank the gods you got here!"

Annabeth and Thalia both hugged Grover. Percy gave him a big high five. Grover and I smiled awkwardly at each other and nodded head politely.

"So what's the emergency?" Percy asked.

Grover took a deep breath. "I found two."

"Two half-bloods?" Thalia asked, amazed. "Here?"

Grover nodded.

"A brother and a sister," he said. "They're ten and twelve. I don't know their parentage, but they're strong. We're running out of time, though. I need help."

"Monsters?"

"One." Grover looked nervous. "He suspects. I don't think he's positive yet, but this is the last day of tern. I'm sure he won't let them leave campus without finding out. It may be our last change! Every time I try to get closet o them, he's always there, blocking me. I dunno what to do!"

"Right," Thalia said. "These half-bloods are at the dance?"

Grover nodded.

"Then let's dance," she said. "Who's the monster?"

"Oh, Grover said, and looked around nervously. "You just met him. The VP, Dr. Thorn."

There were black and red balloons all over the gym floor, and guys were kicking them in each other's faces, or trying to strangle each other with the crepe-paper streamers taped to the walls. Girls moved around in huddles, they way they always do, wearing lots of makeup and spaghetti-strap tops and brightly colored pants and shoes that looked like torture devices. I think they're called heels.

That was a JOKE.

"There they are." Grover nodded toward a couple of younger kids arguing in the bleachers. "Bianca and Nico di Angelo."

"Ooh," I said. "Italian."

Annabeth said, "Do they…I mean, have you told them?"

Grover shook his head. "You know how it is. That could put them in more danger. Once they realize who they are, their scent becomes stronger."

"So let's grab them and get out if here," Percy suggested.

He started forward, but Thalia and I pulled him back. The VP, Dr. Thorn, had slipped out of a doorway near the bleachers and was standing near the di Angelo siblings. He nodded coldly in our direction. His blue eye seemed to glow.

"Don't look at the kids," Thalia ordered. "We have to wait for a chance to get them. We need to pretend we're not interested in them. Throw him off the scent."

"How?"

"We're four powerful half-bloods. Our presence should confuse him. Mingle. Act natural. Do some dancing. But keep an eye on those kids."

"Dancing…?" I said, making it sound like a question.

Thalia nodded, smirking at me. We both made a face as soon as we heard the sound of pop music.

"Ugh!" she said.

"Who the _hell _chose Jesse McCartney?" I asked.

Grover looked hurt. "I did."

"Oh my gods, Grover. That's _so _lame. Can't you play, like. Green Day or something?"

"Yeah! Or Boys Like Girls. _Why Jesse McCartney?!" _

"Green what? Boys like _who_?" he asked.

Thalia rolled her eyes.

"Never mind. Let's dance."

"But I can't dance!"

"You can if I'm leading," Thalia said. "Come on, goat boy."

Grover yelped as Thalia grabbed his hand and led him onto the dance floor.

Annabeth smiled.

"What?" Percy and I asked. His was more of a curiosity tone. My tone was filled with annoyance.

"Nothing. It's just cool to have Thalia back."

"So…" Percy said, filling the awkward silence. "Um, Tiff, play any games lately? Like the new Halo one?" he asked.

I rolled my eyes.

"Halo's gay. I like the 2nd one better than the 3rd," I replied.

He nodded slowly.

"Design any good buildings lately?" he asked Annabeth.

She then went into a 15 minute conversation about how she designed this huge monument that she wanted to build at Ground Zero in Manhattan.

I took my black hat of and put in inside my jacket's pocket. I fiddled with my scarf a little. I gave Percy a _maybe you should tell her to stop _look. He nodded and gave me a look back that said _I know…she'll never shut up _look back. We both smiled.

"Yeah, uh, cool," he said. "So, you're staying there the rest of the year, huh?"

Her face got dark. "Well, maybe, if I don't—"

"Hey!" Thalia called to us. She was slow dancing with Grover, who was tripping all over himself, kicking Thalia in the shins, and looking like he wanted to die.

_Loser, _I thought.

"Dance, you guys!" Thalia ordered. "You look stupid just standing there."

Percy looked at me and Annabeth nervously.

"Well?" Annabeth said.

"Um, who should I ask?" he asked, lamely.

She punched him in the gut. "_Me, _Seaweed Brain."

I nearly choked on my spit.

"Oh, um, what about Tiff?"

I managed to smile.

"Nah, it's okay," I said.

Annabeth grabbed his arm and literally pulled him onto the dance floor.

I made a mental slap to myself.

Why did I say that?

'_Cause you're afraid of Percy Jackson._

No, I'm not.

_Yes, you are._

No, I'm not!

_YES, YOU ARE!!! YOU'RE SCARED HE'LL REJECT YOU!!!_

SHUT UP, STUPID CONSCIENCE!!!

"Punch?" asked a voice behind me.

I turned around and saw a male with messy black hair. He was holding two plastic see-through cups that were filled with pink-ish red-ish punch.

I gave him a look that said _say what? _

"Did you poison it?" I asked, backing a way a little.

He chuckled.

"_Yeah. _I'm _totally _trying to _kill _you."

I gave a small smile and took one of the cups.

"Thanks, I guess," I said.

I looked over where Annabeth and Percy were dancing and, I swear, Percy was glaring at the guy.

The stranger shrugged.

"No, prob. You new here?"

I sipped the punch slowly.

"Uh, kind of," I replied, following Annabeth and Percy's gaze. They were looking at the bleachers.

The kids were gone.

The door next to the bleachers was wide open. Dr. Thorn was nowhere in sight.

He smiled at me. I was tempted to say, "A MONSTER'S GONNA KILL TWO KIDS AND YOU'RE FREAKING SMILING AT ME?!!" but I bit my tongue.

"That's cool. My name's—"

"Yeah, as much as I'd like to know you're name, I gotta go," I said, throwing the plastic cup into the nearest trashcan. I took out my Vanilla Softlips chapstick and ran away before the dude could reply back.

I ran through the crowd and caught a glimpse of Dr. Thorn. He was hurrying out a door at the opposite end of the gym, steering the di Angelo kids by the scruffs of their necks.

_Like kittens, _I thought.

I didn't see Annabeth at all. I _did _see Percy running out of the gym into a door.

I took out my Vanilla Softlips chapstick out of my pocket and ran after him and Dr. Thorn.

* * *

The door led into a dark hallway. I heard sounds of scuffling up ahead, then a painful grunt. Percy didn't hear/see me yet.

He uncapped Riptide.

The pen suddenly turned into a bronze Greek sword about three feet long with a leather-bound grip. The blade glowed faintly, casting a golden light on the rows of lockers.

_Show off._

I decided to sneak up and scare him.

"BOO!!!"

"AGHH!!!"

Mission accomplished.

"Tiffany!" he said in a whisper/shout.

"Hiya," I said, smirking at him.

We jogged down the corridor, but when we got to the other end, no one was there. He opened a door and we found ourselves back in the main entry hall. We were completely turned around. We didn't see Dr. Thorn anywhere, but there on the opposite side of the room were the di Angelo kids. They stood frozen with horror, staring at us.

Percy advanced slowly, lowering the tip of his sword. "It's okay. We're not gonna hurt you."

I uncapped the Vanilla Softlips chapstick and out came a 2 ½ feet (hey, we girls are short) silver sword with a black handle.

The di Angelo kids whimpered.

"Thanks, Tiff," Percy said, giving me a look.

"What?" I asked innocently.

He rolled his eyes but couldn't help but smirk.

"My name's Percy," he said, trying to keep his voice level. "This is Tiffany (I waved to them at this point). We're going to take you out of here, get you somewhere safe."

Bianca's eyes widened. Her fists clenched. Only too late did we realize what her look meant. She wasn't afraid of us. She was trying to warn us.

We turned around and something went…erm…how should I say this…"_WHIIISH!" _

All of a sudden my arm hurt like hell and Percy and I were slammed to the wall.

A cold laugh echoed through the hall.

"Yes, Perseus _Jackson," _Dr. Thorn said with his accent, "and Theophania Martin. I know who you are."

I tried to get up to slash his smirk off his face but we were both pinned to the wall by some kind of spikes—a black dagger-like projectile about a foot long. It had grazed the skin of our shoulders as it passed through our clothes, and the cut burned.

Poison.

_Don't pass out like Pissy did. Don't pass out like Pissy did. Don't pass out like Pissy did, _I chanted in my head.

A dark silhouette now moved toward us. Dr. Thorn stepped into the dim light. He still looked human, but his face was ghoulish. He had perfect white teeth and his brown/blue eyes reflected the light from our swords.

"Thank you for coming out of the gym," he said. "I hate middle school dances."

Percy tried to swing his sword again (he failed the first time), but he was just out of reach.

Suddenly, a second projectile shot from somewhere behind Dr. Thorn. He didn't appear to move. It was as if someone invisible were standing behind him, throwing knives.

Next to us, Bianca yelped. The second thorn impaled itself in the stone wall, half an inch from her face.

"All four of you will come with me," Dr. Thorn said. "Quietly. Obediently. If you make a single noise, if you call out for help or try to fight, I will show you how accurately I can throw."

* * *

**A/N: plz review!!! :) ps: im not gonna be here on the 30th to november 2. **


	7. I Become Nice

**A/N: Please read and review! No, seriously, review. I'm begging you… ps: logan lerman's twitter account is suspended…ha, loser. :P**

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Tiffany's POV

"…We have to jump off the cliff," Percy said quietly. "Into the sea."

"Oh, super idea. You're completely nuts, too!" Bianca whispered/shouted.

All of a sudden, I saw Annabeth with her cap of invisibility. She plowed into the di Angelos, Percy, and me, knocking us down. For a split second, Dr. Thorn was taken by surprise, so his first volley of missiles zipped harmlessly over our heads. This gave Thalia and Grover a chance to advance from behind—Thalia wielding her magic shield, Aegis.

"For Zeus!" she shouted, moving in with her spear.

I thought Dr. Thorn was a goner. Thalia jabbed his head, but he snarled and swatted the spear aside. His hand changed into an orange paw, with enormous claws that sparked against Thalia's shield as he slashed. She managed to roll backward and land on her feet.

Grover sprang forward. He put his reed pipes to his lips and began to play. If this was a good time, I would've been cracking up by now.

Dr. Thorn roared and began to change. He grew larger until he was in his true form—his face still human, but his body that of a huge lion. His leathery, spiky tail whipped deadly thorns in all directions.

"A manticore!" Annabeth said.

"Who _are _you people? Bianca di Angelo demanded. "And what is _that_?"

"A manticore?" Nico gasped. "He's got 3,000 attack power +5 to saving throws!"

I had no idea what he was talking about…probably some kind of nerd game or whatever, but I didn't have time to worry about it. The manticore clawed Grover's magic weeds to shreds then turned toward us with a snarl.

"Get down!" I shouted, pushing the di Angelos flat into the snow. I took out my Strawberry Softlips chapstick (I had put my vanilla one—the sword—away earlier), uncapped it, and came out a spear.

Percy pressed the button on his wristwatch and it turned into a thick bronze shield (it matches with his sword).

"Yield!" the monster roared.

"Never!" Thalia yelled from across the field.

_She needs help, _I thought.

I ran towards Thalia.

"Hey," I said, saluting her.

She smirked and saluted back. "'Sup."

We charged the monster, and for a second, I thought we would run him through. But then there was a thunderous noise and a blaze of light from behind us. The helicopter appeared out of the mist, hovering just beyond the cliffs. It was a sleek black military-style gunship, with attachments on the sides that looked like laser-guided rockets. The searchlights blinded our eye, and the manticore swatted us away with its tail. Thalia's shield and spear flew off separate ways into the snow. I was about to strike the manticore with my spear but it swatted it away with its tail, just like it did to Thalia.

"No!" shouted Percy from a different place. Who knows where? My eyes were still blinded and I couldn't see. I looked my head from left to right, but the headlights were still blinding me.

"Tiff!" I heard his voice in my ear.

"Percy?" I said in a smile voice.

"Agh!"

He had parried away a spike before it would've hit my chest. He raised his shield over us, but obviously it wouldn't be enough.

We were trapped between a monster and a fully armed helicopter. We had no chance.

I grabbed onto Percy, and I swear, it felt like were hugging. We were both too embarrassed to say anything.

Then I heard a clear, piercing sound: the call of a hunting horn blowing in the woods.

The manticore froze. For a moment, no one moved. There was only the swirl of snow and wind, Percy and I giving each other _hurry it up so we can let go of each other _looks, and the chopping of the helicopter blades.

"No," Dr. Thorn said. "It cannot be—"

His sentence was cut short when something shot past us like a streak of moonlight. A glowing silver arrow sprouted from Dr. Thorn's shoulder.

He staggered backward, wailing in agony.

"Curse you!" Thorn cried. He unleashed his spikes, dozens of them at once, into the woods where the arrow had come from, but just as fast, silvery arrows shot back in reply.

The manticore pulled the arrow out of his shoulder with a howl of pain. His breathing was heavy. Percy and I let go of each other.

"Go!" I said.

He nodded and tried to swipe him with his sword, but he wasn't as injured as he looked. The manticore dodged his attack and slammed his tail in Percy's shield, knocking him aside.

Then the archers came from the woods. They were all girls. There were dozens of them. The youngest was maybe ten and the oldest was about fourteen, like me. They wore silvery ski parkas and jeans, and they were all armed with bows. They advanced on the manticore with determined expressions.

"The Hunters!" Annabeth cried.

Next to me, Thalia muttered, "Oh, wonderful."

One of the older archers stepped forward with her bow drawn. She was tall and graceful with coppery colored skin. Unlike the other girls, she had a silver circlet braided into the top of her long dark hair. She looked like some kind of princess or whatever. "Permission to kill, my lady?"

I couldn't tell who she was talking to, because she kept her eyes on the manticore.

The monster wailed. "This is not fair! Direct interference! It is against the Ancient Laws!"

"Not so," another girl said. This one was a little younger than me, maybe 12 or 13. She had auburn hair gathered back in a ponytail and strange eyes…like the color of the moon. I heard Percy catch his breath. I punched his arm to make him focus. "The hunting of all wild beasts is within my sphere. And you foul creature, are a wild beast." She looked at the older girl with the circlet. "Zoë, permission granted."

The manticore growled. "If I cannot have these alive, I shall have them dead!"

He lunged at Thalia, Percy, and me, knowing we were weak and dazed.

"No!" Annabeth yelled, and she charged at the monster.

"Get back, half-blood!" the girl with the circlet said. "Get out of the line of fire!"

But Annabeth leaped onto the monster's back and drove her knife into his mane. The manticore howled turning in circles with his tail flailing as Annabeth hung on for her dear life.

"Fire!" Zoë ordered.

"No!" Percy screamed.

But the hunters let their arrows fly. The first caught the manticore in the neck. Another hit his chest. The manticore staggered backward, wailing, "This is not the end, Huntress! You shall pay!"

And before anyone could react, the monster, with Annabeth still on his back, leaped over the cliff and tumbled into the darkness.

"Annabeth!" Percy yelled.

He started to run after her but I pulled him back.

Most of the Hunters scattered as tiny holes appeared in the snow at their feet, but the girl with the auburn hair just looked up calmly at the helicopter.

"Mortals," she announced, "are not allowed to witness my hunt."

She thrust out her hand, and the helicopter exploded into dust—no, not dust. The black metal dissolved into a flock of birds—ravens, which scattered into the night.

The hunters advanced on us.

The one called Zoë stopped short when she saw Thalia. "You," she said with distaste.

"Zoë Nightshade." Thalia's voice trembled with anger. "Perfect timing, as usual."

Zoë canned the rest of us. "Five half-bloods and a satyr, my lady."

"Yes," the younger girl said. "Some of Chiron's campers, I see."

"Annabeth!" Percy yelled. "You have to let us save her!"

The auburn-haired girl turned towards him. "I'm sorry, Percy Jackson, but your friend is beyond help."

He tried to struggle to his feet, but a couple of girls held me down.

_Bitches, _I thought. I was about to hold him down until they _practically _pushed me. I had a feeling they could read my mind because they both glared at me.

"You are in no condition to be hurling yourself off cliffs," the auburn-haired girl said.

"Let me go!" he demanded. "Who do you think you are?"

Zoë stepped forward as if she was gonna smack him.

"No," the other girl ordered. "I sense no disrespect, Zoë. He is simply distraught. He does not understand."

The younger girl looked at him, her eyes colder and brighter than the winter moon. "I am Artemis," she said. "Goddess of the Hunt."

* * *

Percy said something _real _intelligent like, "Um…okay."

I punched his arm for being stupid.

Grover gasped, then knelt hastily in the snow and started yammering, "Thank you, Lady Artemis! You're so…you're so…Wow!"

"Get up, goat boy!" Thalia sapped. "We have other things to worry about. Annabeth is gone!"

"Let's just leave her that way," I said, shrugging.

"Whoa," Bianca di Angelo said. "Hold up. Time out."

We all looked at her. She pointed her fingers at all of us in turn, like she was trying to connect the dots. "Who…who are you people?"

Artemis's expression softened. "It might be a better question, my dear girl, to ask who are _you_? Who are your parents?"

Bianca glanced nervously at her brother, who was still staring in awe at Artemis.

"Our parents are dead," Bianca said. "We're orphans. There's a bank trust that pays for our school, but…"

She faltered. I guess she could tell from our faces that we didn't believe her.

"What?" she demanded. "I'm telling the truth."

"You are a half-blood," Zoë Nightshade said. Her accent was kinda old-fashioned. Like "where for art thou" or whatever. "One of thy parents was mortal. The other was an Olympian."

"An Olympian…athlete?"

"My cousin was in the 2008 Olympics," I added.

I was obviously ignored.

"No," Zoë said. "One of the gods."

"Cool!" said Nico.

"No!" Bianca's voice quavered. "This is not cool!"

Nico danced around like he needed to take a piss. "Does Zeus really have lightning bolts that do 600 damage? Does he get extra movement points for—"

"Nico, shut up!" Bianca put her hands to her face. "This is not your stupid Mythomagic game, okay? There are no gods!"

"Thalia's anger in her eyes subsided a little bit. "Bianca, I know it's hard to believe. But the gods are still around. Trust me. They're immortal. And whenever they have kids with regular humans, kids like us, well…Our lives are dangerous."

"Dangerous," Bianca said, "like the girl who fell."

Thalia turned away. Even Artemis looked pained.

"Do not despair for Annabeth," the goddess said. "She was a brave maiden. If she can be found, I shall find her."

My attention deficit disorder had kicked into its senses and I didn't pay attention to the rest of the conversation. All I remember was that Thalia got really mad at me and Percy.

"Erm, Percy?" I said to him. The others had walked towards the woods.

He looked at Annabeth's trampled Yankees baseball cap in the snow. Then my face.

"Yeah?" he mumbled.

"We'll find her," I said reassuringly. I didn't like Annabeth but I didn't exactly hate her either. She was pretty nice sometimes. She just has to stop talking about buildings, though.

He studied my face silently. I was tempted to yell at him,"Why the hell are you staring at me?!" but I knew what he was doing.

He was looking at my face to see if I was lying.

Percy was the type of guy people would tease. I mean, even though he had, dare I say it, _beautiful _eyes, a funny sense of humor, basically the type of guy anyone would hang out with. The only problem was that he was sensitive. He could easily cry (I've seen him cry twice in my whole life. It makes you wanna cry, too) and he called girls "pretty" or "beautiful" instead of "cute" or "hot". I guess those were the reasons why I teased him in 6th grade. I suddenly felt guilty. Even after what I had done to him, he was _always _there for me. He always offered ambrosia and nectar whenever I was injured, asked how my day was, said a few (nice) comments about me, saved my life a couple of times, told me the answers on the quizzes in Ancient Greek class…he was basically _nice. _

I bit my tongue.

He sighed and stuffed the Yankees hat into his pocket.

I gave him a crooked smile. He couldn't help but laugh at my kindness.

"Thanks for cheering me up…kind of," he said, walking towards the forest.

I followed him.

_We'll find her, _my voice echoed in my head.

"I hope…" I whispered to myself.

**A/N: Please review…please. :) **


	8. Apollo Makes Percy Jealous

**A/N: Hola! How's your life goin'? Well I don't care. Lolz. Sorry, jk. Please R&R. :)**

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**Tiffany's POV

"It's green!" Nico said with delight.

Grover was helping Percy fix up his wounded arm.

"Hold still," Grover told him. "Here, eat some ambrosia while I clean that out."

He winced. I was tempted to slap him and shout "BE STRONG. BE BRAVE. BE A FREAKING MAN!" but I decided not to.

Nico rummaged through his own bag, which the Hunters had apparently packed for him, thought how they'd snuck into Westover Hall unseen, I didn't know. Nico laid out a bunch of figurines (*cough* dolls *cough*) in the snow—little battle replicas of Greek gods and heroes. I recognized Zeus with a lightning bolt, Ares with a spear, and Apollo with his sun chariot.

"Big collection," Percy said.

Nico grinned. "I've got almost all of them, plus their holographic cards! Well, except for a few really rare ones."

"You've been playing this game a long time?" Percy asked.

"Just this year. Before that…" He knit his eyebrows.

"What?" I asked, wanting to hear this gossip.

"I forget. That's weird."

He looked unsettled, but it didn't last very long. "Hey, can I see the swords you guys were using?"

Percy showed him Riptide and I showed him my Vanilla Softlips chapstick, and explained how our everyday items turned into a sword by just uncapping it.

"Cool! Does it ever run out of ink? And chapstick?"

"Um, well, I don't actually write with it," Percy said.

"I kinda use the chapstick sometimes...erm…no. It doesn't," I said.

"Are you the son of Poseidon?"

"Well, yeah."

"Can you surf really well, then?"

Percy looked at Grover then me. We were both trying hard not to laugh.

"Jeez, Nico," Percy said. "I've never really tried."

"Who are you the daughter of?" Nico asked me.

"Ares."

"ARES? TOTAL SWEETNESS!!!"

"Erm, yeah, sure. Whatever."

He went on asking questions. Did Percy get a lot with Thalia, since she was a daughter of Zeus? (Percy didn't know how to answer that one.) If Annabeth's mother was Athena, the goddess of wisdom, then why didn't Annabeth know better than to fall off a cliff? (He tried not to strangle Nico for asking that one. I laughed.) Was Annabeth Percy's girlfriend? (I tried _really _hard not to punch the kid's face. Percy had laughed nervously and said "no".) Were the both of us dating? (At this point, we both were ready to stick the kid in a meat-flavored sack and throw him to the wolves.)

Percy was about to lose his cool completely and I was_ just _ready to go to juvenile hall for murdering a kid, but then Zoë Nightshade came up to us.

"Percy Jackson and Tiffany Martin."

She has dark brown eyes and a slightly upturned nose. With her silver circlet and her proud expression, she looked so much like a stupid, girly, princess.

"Yes, ma'am," Percy said, sitting up straight. She studied him distastefully, like he was a bag of dirty laundry she'd been sent to fetch.

"Yeah?" I said, showing no respect at all. She looked at me with curiosity.

"Come with me," she said. "Lady Artemis wishes to speak with the both of thee."

* * *

_In Artemis's tent…_

"Join us, Percy Jackson and Tiffany Martin," the goddess said.

We sat across from her, on pillows, on the tent floor. Why was my name _always _second?

"Are you surprised by my age?" she asked.

"Uh…a little," Percy replied.

"I don't really care," I said, nonchalantly.

"I could appear as a grown woman, or a blazing fire, or anything else I want, but this is what I prefer. This is the average age of my Hunter, and all young maidens for whom I am patron, before they go astray."

"Go astray?" Percy asked.

"Grow up. Become smitten with boys. Become silly, preoccupied, insecure. Forget themselves."

"Oh," Percy replied, lamely.

Zoë sat down at Artemis's right. She glared at Percy as if all the stuff Artemis had just said was my fault, like he'd invented the idea of being a guy.

"You must forgive my Hunters if they do not welcome you," Artemis said. "It is very rare that we would have boys in this camp. Boys are usually forbidden to have any contact with the Hunters. The lost one to see this camp…" She looked at Zoë. "Which one was it?"

"That boy in Colorado," Zoë said. "You turned him into a jackalope."

Wow. Even _I'm _not that cruel.

"Ah, yes." Artemis nodded, satisfied. My attention deficit disorder had kicked in and the only thing I heard was "I'd like to hear them from you."

I was completely clueless. Thank the gods Percy had spoken for the both of us. He told her what had happened with Dr. Thorn.

When he was done, Artemis put her hand thoughtfully on her silver bow. "I feared this was the answer."

Zoë sat forward. "The scent my lady?"

"Yes."

"What scent?" I asked.

"Things are stirring that I have not hunted in millennia," Artemis murmured.

ADD, welcome back!

"Have you made up your mind, my girl?" Artemis asked Bianca. I focused my attention on the both of them.

Bianca hesitated. "I'm still thinking about it."

"Wait," I said. "Thinking about what?"

"They…they've invited me to join the Hunt."

Percy exploded. "What? But you can't! You have to come to Camp Half-Blood so Chiron can train you. It's the only way you can learn to survive."

"It is _not _the only way for a girl," Zoë said.

I couldn't believe I was hearing this.

"Bianca, camp is _so _cool! (I sounded like an airhead.) It's got a pegasus stable and a sword-fighting arena and…I mean…what do you get by joining the freaking Hunters?"

"To begin with," Zoë said, "immorality."

Percy and I stared at her, then at Artemis.

"She's kidding right?" Percy said.

"Zoë rarely kids about anything," Artemis said. "My Hunters follow me on my adventures. They are my maidservants, my companions, my sisters-in-arms. Once they swear loyalty to me, they are indeed immortal…unless they fall in battle, which is unlikely. Or break their oath."

"What oath?" he asked.

"To foreswear romantic love forever," Artemis said. "To never grow up, never get married. To be a maiden eternally."

"Like you?

The goddess nodded.

I tried imagining being immortal and hanging out with girls forever. I shuddered. I didn't want to spend my life with girls…_forever. _I mean, I _do _like guys…just…well…wouldn't it be really boring hanging out with girls for eternity?

Percy and Zoë started arguing about recruiting half-bloods.

"Which are you then?" Percy asked.

He meant: Are you a half-blood, nymph, mortal…what?

Anger flashed in Zoë's eyes. "That is not thy concern, boy. The point is Bianca may join if she wishes. It is her choice."

"Bianca, this is crazy," Percy said. "What about your brother? Nico can't be a Hunter."

"Certainly not," Artemis agreed. "He will go to camp. Unfortunately, that's the best boys can do."

"Hey!" Percy protested.

"You can see him from time to time," Artemis assured Bianca. "But you will be free of responsibility. He will have the camp counselors to take care of him. And you will have a new family. Us."

"A new family," Bianca repeated dreamily. "Free of responsibility."

"Bianca, you can't do this," Percy said. "It's nuts."

I nodded. "I agree with Pissy. I mean, what about boys? You'll never…like…associate with them. Never. You'll miss everything! Your first date, your first boyfriend, your first kiss… I _can't_ live without boys. And look at me; I hurt them every single day."

She looked at Zoë. "Is it worth it?"

Zoë nodded. "It is."

"You could become a Hunter, too if you like, Tiffany," Artemis said.

"HELL TO THE FREAKING NO," I replied.

"What do I have to do?" asked Bianca.

"Say this," Zoë told her, "'I pledge myself to the goddess Artemis.'"

"'I turn my back on the company of men, accept eternal maidenhood, and join the Hunt.'"

Bianca repeated the lines. "That's it?"

Zoë nodded. "If Lady Artemis accepts thy pledge, then it is binding."

"I accept it," Artemis said.

The flames in the brazier brightened, casting a silver glow over the room. Bianca looked no different, but she took a deep breath and opened her eyes wide. "I feel…stronger."

"Welcome, sister," Zoë said.

"Remember your pledge," Artemis said. "It is now your life."

Percy and I were speechless. I couldn't believe we had just lost Bianca to some eternal girls' club.

"Do not despair, you two," Artemis said. "You will still get to show the di Angelos your camp. And if Nico so chooses, he can stay there."

"Great," Percy said, tying not to sound surly. "How are we supposed to get there?"

Artemis closed her eyes. "Dawn is approaching. Zoë, break camp. You must get to Long Island quickly and safely. I shall summon a ride from my brother."

Zoë didn't look real happy about this idea, but she nodded and told Bianca to follow her. As she was leaving she paused in front of us. "I'm sorry, guys. But I want this. I really, really do."

Then she was gone, and we were left alone with the twelve-year-old goddess.

"So, I said. "We're going to get a ride from your brother, huh?

Artemis's silver eyes gleamed. "Yes. You see, Bianca di Angelo is not the only one with an annoying brother. It's time for you to meet my irresponsible twin, Apollo."

* * *

The sky began to lighten. Artemis muttered, "About time. He's so-o-o lazy during the winter."

"You're, um, waiting for sunrise?" Percy asked.

"For my brother. Yes."

There was a sudden burst of light on the horizon. A blast of warmth.

"Don't look," Artemis advised. "Not until he parks."

Percy and I looked at each other with the same thought: _Parks? _

We both averted our eyes, and saw that the other kids were doing the same. The light and warmth intensified until my North Face coat felt like it was melting off of me. Then suddenly the light died.

I looked. And I couldn't believe it. It as a red convertible Maserati Spyder. It was so _awesome _it glowed. Then I realized it was glowing because the metal was hot. The snow had melted around the Maserati in a perfect circle, which explained why I was now standing in green grass and my Nikes were wet.

The driver got out, smiling. He looked about seventeen or eighteen. He had the same sandy hair and outdoorsy good looks like Luke. But it wasn't Luke. This guy was taller, with no scar on his face like Luke's. His smile was brighter and more playful. (Luke didn't do much more than scowl and sneer these days.) He was wearing jeans, Nikes, and a sleeveless T-shirt.

"Wow," Thalia and I both muttered at the same time.

"Apollo is _hot,_" I said, not taking my eyes off of him.

"He's the sun god," Percy said.

Thalia slapped his arm.

"That's not what she meant."

"Little sister!" Apollo called. If his teeth were any whiter he could've blinded us without the sun car. "What's up? You never call. You never write. I was getting worried!"

Artemis sighed. "I'm fine, Apollo. And I am not your _little _sister."

"Hey, I was born first."

"We're twins! How many millennia do we have to argue—"

"So what's up?" he interrupted. "Got the girls with you, I see. Y'all need some tips on archery?"

Artemis grit her teeth. "I need a favor. I have some hunting to do, _alone. _I need you to take my companions to Camp Half-Blood."

"Sure, sis!" Then he raised his hands in a _stop everything _gesture. "I feel a haiku coming on."

The Hunters groaned. Apparently they'd met Apollo before.

He cleared his throat and help up one hand dramatically.

"_Green grass breaks through snow._

_Artemis pleads for my help._

_I am so cool."_

He grinned at us, waiting for applause. "The last line was only four syllables," Artemis said.

Apollo frowned. "Was it?"

"Yes. What about _I am so big-headed?"_

"No, no, that's six syllables. Hmm." He started muttering to himself.

Zoë turned to us. "Lord Apollo has been going through this haiku phase ever since he visited Japan. 'Tis not as bad as the time he visited Limerick. If I'd had to hear one more poem that started with, _There once was a goddess from Sparta—"_

"I'VE GOT IT!" Apollo announced. "_I am so awesome. _That's five syllables!" He bowed, looking very pleased with himself.

And he was also the god of poetry? W…T…F…?

"And now, sis. Transportation for the Hunters, you say? Good timing. I was just about ready to roll."

"These demigods will also need a ride," Artemis said pointing at us. "Some of Chiron's campers."

"No problem!" Apollo checked us out. "Let's see…Thalia, right? I've heard all about you."

Thalia blushed. "Hi, Lord Apollo.

"Zeus's girl, yes? Makes you my half sister. Used to be a tree, didn't you? Glad you're back. I hate it when pretty girls turn into trees."

He then looked at me with a huge grin.

"I _know _you. You're Tiffany, Ares' daughter. You helped find Zeus' lighting bolt."

I felt my cheeks heat up. "Yeah…"

He was still grinning at me. "A hot girl like you needs to loosen up, get a boyfriend. _Do _you have a boyfriend?"

I gulped, feeling my cheeks heat up again. "N-No, sir. Lord. Apollo. Whatever.

Apollo was _still _grinning. "I love it when hot girls stutter in my presence. Especially _this _one."

My cheeks were probably as hot as the Maserati.

Percy clenched his fists and said something to himself.

He then looked at Percy, eyes narrowed. "Percy Jackson?"

"Yeah. I mean…yes, sir."

Apollo studied him, but didn't say anything, which was weird.

"Well!" he said at last. "We'd better load up, huh? Ride only goes one way—west. And if you miss it, you miss it."

The Maserati only seats two people. There were about twenty of us.

"Cool car," Nico said.

"Thanks, kid," Apollo said.

"But how will we all fit?"

"Oh." Apollo seemed to notice the problem for the first time. Well, yeah. I hate to change out of sports-car mode, but I suppose…"

He took out his car keys and beeped the security alarm button. _Chirp, chirp. _

For a moment, the car glowed brightly again. When the glare died, the Maserati had been replaced by one of those Turtle Top shuttle busses.

"Right," he said. "Everybody in."

Apollo turned and grinned, jangling the car keys on his finger. "So," he said. "Who wants to drive?"

* * *

The Hunters piled into the van. They all crammed unto the back so they'd be as far away as possible from Apollo and the rest of the males. Bianca sat with them, leaving her little brother to hang in the front with us, which seemed colt to me, but Nico didn't seem to mind. Grover was sitting next to Nico and my only choice was to sit next to Percy. I didn't really mind. We were frenemies, right? It's all good.

_But you _like _him!_

SHUT THE HELL UP, STUPID CONSCIENCE!!!

"This is so cool!" Nico said, jumping up and down in his seat. "Is this really the sun? I thought Helios and Selene were the sun and moon gods. How come sometimes it's them and sometimes it's you and Artemis?"

"Downsizing," Apollo said. "The Romans started it. They couldn't afford all those temple sacrifices, so they laid off Helios and Selene and folded their duties into our job descriptions. My sis got the moon. I got the sun. It was pretty annoying at first, but at least I got this cool car."

"But how does it work?" Nico asked. "I thought the sun was a big fiery ball of gas!"

Apollo chuckled and ruffled Nico's hair. "That rumor probably got started because Artemis used to call me a big fiery ball of gas. Seriously, kid, it depends on whether you're talking astronomy or philosophy. You want to talk astronomy? Bah, what fun id that? You want to talk about how humans _think _about the sun? Ah, now that's more interesting. They've got a lot riding on the sun…er, so to speak. It keeps them warm, grows their crops, powers engines, makes everything look, well, sunnier. This chariot is built out of human _dreams _about the sun, kid. It's as old as Western Civilization. Every day, it drives the sky from east to west, lighting up all those punt little mortal lives. The chariot is a manifestation of the sun's power, the way mortals perceive it. Make sense?"

Nico shook his head. "No."

"Well then, just think of it was a really powerful, really dangerous solar car."

"Can I drive?"

"No. Too young."

"Oo! Oo!" Grover raised his hand.

"Mm, no," Apollo said. "Too furry." He looked at me.

"Yo, daughter of Ares! Wanna drive?"

I gulped.

"Thanks…but no, thanks."

"All right then. No use arguing with a daughter of Ares. Could get ugly…you! Daughter of Zeus! Lord of the sky. Perfect!"

"Oh, no." Thalia shook her head. "No, thanks."

"C'mon," Apollo said. "How old are you?"

Thalia hesitated. "I don't know."

Apollo tapped his finger to his lips. "You're fifteen, almost sixteen."

"How do you know that?"

"Hey, I'm the god of prophecy, I know stuff. You'll turn sixteen in about a week."

"That's my birthday! December twenty-second."

"Which means you're old enough now to drive with a learner's permit!"

Thalia shifted her feet nervously. "Uh—"

"I know what you're going to say," Apollo said. "You don't deserve an honor like driving the sun chariot."

"That's not what I was going to say."

"Don't sweat it! Maine to Long Island is a really short trip, and don't worry about what happen to the last kid I trained. You're Zeus's daughter. He's not gonna blast _you _out of the sky."

Apollo laughed good-naturedly. The rest of us didn't join him.

Thalia tried to protest, but Apollo was absolutely not gonna take "no" for an answer. He hit a button on the dashboard, and a sign popped up along the top of the windshield. I had to read it backward (which, for a dyslexic, really isn't that different than reading forward). I was pretty sure it said WARNING: STUDENT DRIVER.

"Take it away!" Apollo told Thalia. "You're gonna be a natural!"

* * *

"I'm under control….I'm under control…" Thalia chanted to herself.

I was holding onto Percy's jacket sleeve, which I think will be stretched when I'll let go.

"Please, Lord Zeus, don't let me die this way!" I heard Grover pray.

"Brake," Apollo said.

"I can do this," she said.

"BRAKE!!!" everyone shouted.

Thalia slammed her foot on the brake, and the sun bus pitched forward at a forty-five-degree angle, slamming into the Camp Half-Blood canoe lake with a huge _FLOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOSH! _Steam billowed up, sending several frightened naiads scrambling out of the water with half-woven wicker baskets.

The bus bobbed to the surface, along with a couple of capsized, half-melted canoes.

"Well," said Apollo with a brave smile. "You were right, my dear. You had everything under control! Let's go see if we boiled anyone important, shall we?"

* * *

**A/N: Please review!!!! :) **


	9. Should I Change It Or Keep the Original?

**OKAY...HEH...SORRY...NOT RLY A NEW CHAPTER...BUT...I'LL DELETE LATER...**

**I have a very important question for you guys who read this.**

**Should I change the name of the story....?  
**

**Percy Jackson, Tiffany Martin, & the Olympians **

**OR...SHOULD I JUST KEEP THE ORIGINAL NAME?**

**Theophania, the Daughter of Ares**

**IT IS UP TO YOU!!! THERE WILL BE A CHAPTER DEDICATION FOR ALL YOU WHO VOTED!!!! GRACIAS, AND HAVE A GOOD NIGHT...DAY...WHATEVER!!!**

**PLEASE ANSWER THE FREAKING QUESTION!!!!! :P**

**NOW...I'LL BE LEAVING YOU...CHOOSE WISELY....!!! **

**~lily**


	10. PJ, TM, & the Olympians Movie Trailer

**A/N: okay, okay, I know what ur thinking "wth is taking u so long to update?!!!" well I have a life and I go to school and yeah. So I was on the computer today and decided to look for pjo trailers (obsessed? Yes I am) so yeah. And I found a new one (which the site will be on my profile…and percy's shirtless…LOL. I was like "WTF?!!!") and this is a chapter of the trailer with tiffany in it (her POV). **

**But before I start…I'd like to thank the following reviewers!!!**

Asharza (u rock!)

xXKaminari-TsubasaXx (thx for reviewing!)

Jasmine James (ditto!)

D-trav (ditto!)

Eon Radiance (let's both kill Annabeth!!! Lolz.)

Harryfan94 (you always review!!! thanks!!!)

Nightmare Before Halloween: Yeah, this story is pointless (it's called doing it for the hell of it). And yeah, everything in the story is changed (it's called an AU). But NO, Tiff/Theo is NOT a Mary Sue. In fact, I don't even act like her. And if you hate OC stories so much, QUIT FLAMING THEM. But, surprisingly, I'm not angry at you at all. Here's a positive thing I have to say to you: HELL YEAH, EDWARD CULLEN'S A GARY-STU!!! :P

**so yeahhh, enjoy and wait for the next chap to come!!! because this isn't rly a chap! :)  
**

**

* * *

**"And he's alive!" laughed Grover

"How many was that?" Percy asked, getting out of the pool.

"7 minutes. That's crazy, man. How do you do it?"

"I don't know. I just like being in the water. It's the one place I can think," Percy replied.

"Ooh, you can think? Shocker," I muttered. I was the lifeguard at the pool at that moment. What about my bad-girl image? Hell, I was only a lifeguard because I had to do service hours (long story).

"I heard that!" Percy yelled, drying his hair with his towel.

"Good!" I yelled back.

* * *

"There are the 12 Olympian gods. The main three are the brothers Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades," explained Mr. Brunner.

Percy stood there listening to his iPod.

I kicked him.

"Ow!" he yelped.

I smirked and pretended nothing happened.

"The children of these gods were half-human half-gods."

* * *

I groaned. It was yet another boring class at Yancy Academy.

"So boring," Nancy said to me.

"I know," I replied.

"Shut up!" Percy said. He sat beside me.

I glared at him.

"Percy Jackson," Ms. Dodds said, walking into the classroom.

I smirked at him.

"Tiffany Martin," she added.

Percy smirked back at me. I rolled my eyes and we both got out of our seats.

"We need to talk."

* * *

"Ms. Dodds?" Percy said.

She growled.

"I don't think she's Ms. Dodds anymore…" I said.

"Whoa!" he screamed as she turned into a monster. She tried to attack us.

"Get down!" I shouted, pushing him to the floor.

* * *

"They've found them," Mr. Brunner said.

"Who found us?" Percy asked.

* * *

"We've been expecting you," said Persephone.

"What, are we like celebs or something?" I asked sarcastically.

"Better than that," she replied.

* * *

"My father's…Poseidon." Percy said.

"The God of the Seas," Mr. Brunner added.

"And my mine's…Ares?" I asked.

"The God of War."

"Wow," Percy said with disbelief.

I slapped his leg.

"Ow!"

"Yeah right our dads are Greek gods. That's like saying Harry Potter's real. Is he real? Are there really wizards and witches? Is there really Hogwarts? You see how GAY that sounds?!" I said.

"But our dads _are _Greek gods..."

"OH MY GOD...STUPID!!!"

* * *

"I definitely have strong feelings for you. I just haven't decided if their positive or negative yet," Annabeth said.

Percy smiled.

"Oh the gods, I think I'm gonna puke," I said, covering my mouth.

* * *

"We'll find the bolt," Percy promised.

"That's what you always say!" I said.

"'We'll find the bolt'?" Annabeth asked.

I rolled my eyes.

"No! He always says the positive side of things!" I said.

"What's wrong with that?" he asked, angrily.

"This is the real world! What if we _don't _find it?!"

* * *

"Oh my Gawd, Oh my Gawd. Oh my Gawd," I said over and over. Grover was driving.

"Oh the Gods," Annabeth corrected me.

"Like it matters!"

* * *

"Take these and defend yourself. Those are powerful weapons," Mr. Brunner told us.

Percy gaped at him.

"This is a pen," Percy said.

"And this is a freaking chapstick," I said.

"Only use them in times of severe distress."

"This is a pen!"

"And this is a freaking chapstick!"

* * *

"Click it," Grover told Percy.

"Whoa!" he screamed, holding a sword now.

I rolled my eyes.

"Lemme guess, if I open this chapstick a sword will pop out like his pen?" I asked.

Grover smiled.

"Actually that's just an ordinary chapstick. _Here's _the real one," he said, handing me a Vanilla Softlips.

I rolled my eyes and uncapped it.

"Yeah, a sword's gonna pop out and—HOLY SHIT!"

* * *

"Oh my God!" I shouted, watching Percy make a spiral of fire at Luke.

"'Oh the gods', Tiff!" He shouted back.

"Oh, you think you are _so _funny!"

"Yes, I _do _think I am _so _funny!"

"Shut up and fight!" Luke shouted at us.

* * *

Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief

February 12, 2010

President's Day

* * *

Theophania, Daughter of Ares: Movie Edition

or

Percy Jackson, Tiffany Martin, & the Olympians: Movie Edition

A little after Feb. 12, 2010. Maybe after I see it or maybe when it comes out on DVD & Blueray.

* * *

**A/N: was this pointless? yes it was. was it funny? maybe so. would you like to review? i hope so. i might update sooner. :) **


	11. I Get Air Kisses From My Former Enemy

**A/N: **Another chapter? I'm so nice! LMAO. This is a song-fic chapter…kind of…you guys should listen to the song. At first I didn't like it but now it seems okay. And they USED to have it free on iTunes. Ugh… If you guys could read the lyrics (which I doubt you will) it explains Percy and Tiffany's relationship…kind of…well…please read and review!!!

Wait!

So I got like…2 (3?) reviews saying Tiff is Mary-Sue. Fine, if she's Mary-Sue to you…so be it. Just keep it to yourselves. Don't flame. R&R.

* * *

**According to You** By Orianthi

According to you

I'm stupid,

I'm useless,

I can't do anything right.

According to you

I'm difficult,

hard to please,

forever changing my mind.

I'm a mess in a dress,

can't show up on time,

even if it would save my life.

According to you. According to you.

But according to him

I'm beautiful,

incredible,

he can't get me out of his head.

According to him

I'm funny,

irresistible,

everything he ever wanted.

Everything is opposite,

I don't feel like stopping it,

so baby tell me what I got to lose.

He's into me for everything I'm not,

according to you.

According to you

I'm boring,

I'm moody,

you can't take me any place.

According to you

I suck at telling jokes cause I always give it away.

I'm the girl with the worst attention span;

you're the boy who puts up with it.

According to you. According to you.

But according to him

I'm beautiful,

incredible,

he can't get me out of his head.

According to him

I'm funny,

irresistible,

everything he ever wanted.

Everything is opposite,

I don't feel like stopping it,

so baby tell me what I got to lose.

He's into me for everything I'm not,

according to you.

I need to feel appreciated,

like I'm not hated. oh-- no--.

Why can't you see me through his eyes?

It's too bad you're making me decide.

According to me

you're stupid,

you're useless,

you can't do anything right.

But according to him

I'm beautiful,

incredible,

he can't get me out of his head.

According to him

I'm funny,

irresistible,

everything he ever wanted.

Everything is opposite,

I don't feel like stopping it,

baby tell me what I got to lose.

He's into me for everything I'm not,

according to you. [you, you]

According to you. [you, you]

According to you

I'm stupid,

I'm useless,

I can't do anything right.

* * *

Tiffany's POV

FLASHBACK

_There are parties, and then there are huge, major, blowout parties. The ones I'd like to trash. And then there are Olympian parties. If you ever got a choice, go for the Olympian. But _don't_ trash it. _

_The Nine Muses cranked up the tunes, and I realized the music was whatever you wanted it to be: the gods could listen to classical and the younger demigods heard whatever, and it was all the same sound track. Tight now, I was listening to _Telephone _by Lady Gaga._

_Dionysus went around growing refreshment stands out of the ground, and an attractive woman (I'm not GAY) walked with him arm in arm—his wife, Ariadne. The dude looked happy for the first time. Nectar and ambrosia overflowed from golden fountains, and platters of mortal snack food crowded the banquet tables. Golden goblets filled with whatever drink you wanted. Grover was holding a plate of enchiladas and his goblet was full of double-espresso latte. He kept muttering over like an incantation: "Pan! Pan!"_

_And surprisingly, I didn't tease him._

_I watched the gods coming over to congratulate Percy. I gripped my goblet (which was filled with Dr. Pepper) tightly. I was with h im on the quest, too. _

_Then a man's voice behind me said, "You did great, daughter."_

_I turned and found Ares smiling at me._

"_Dad…uh…hey," I said, sipping my drink._

"_I see you can't take your eyes off of Poseidon's son."_

_I nearly spit out my Dr. Pepper._

"_Oh, no. Oh, no, no, no, no, no, no, no!" I said, putting my goblet down on the table beside me._

_My father raised an eyebrow at me._

"_Oh, really? So you are denying that you are staring at him?"_

"_I'm not denying…I'm denying that I'm staring at him _in that way_!" _

_Ares laughed._

"_Of course you're not, daughter."_

"_I'm not!"_

"_So, you wouldn't mind if I said you could become friends with him? And maybe more?"_

_He got me there._

"_Uh, s-sure. I wouldn't mind being friends with him…"_

"…_or more."_

"_Dad!" I shouted._

_He chuckled._

"_My daughter…falling for my enemy…"_

"_Da-a-ad!"_

_He grinned._

_I wanted to uncap my Vanilla Softlips right then to teach him a lesson, but just then, Bessie (this crazy creature that followed us) started mooing from across the courtyard. Some demigods were playing with his water sphere, joyously pushing it back and forth over the top of the crowd._

"_Ugh, children," my dad spat._

_He looked at something behind me. Then he grinned._

"_Well, I better go. There's someone who wants to talk to you," he said._

"_Who?" I asked. _

_But my dad grinned once again and walked away. _

"_Hey, Tiff!" said a male voice behind me._

_I turned around. Next thing I knew, I was face-to-face with my so-called enemy. _

"_Uhm, hi," I replied._

"_Soooo," Percy said._

"_Soooo," I replied back._

_We're masters at making conversations. _

_He was about to say something but he stopped._

"_Never mind…" he said to himself._

"_Huh?" I asked._

"_Nothing."_

"_Oh, it was _something_!" I said, chuckling._

_All of a sudden I heard the song _I Will Be _by Leona Lewis._

_Weird…isn't this sung by Avril Lavigne, too? I thought._

"_That's a nice song," Percy said, shuffling his feet. _

"_Yeah, it's—"_

_I stopped._

_We were listening to the same song._

"_I was, um, thinking about that time at Westover Hall. We never got to…y'know…well….I think I owe you a dance," he said, rubbing his neck._

_I smiled slowly._

"_All right, Prissy. Let's dance."_

_He took my hand and we started to slow dance. Grover gave Percy a what-the-hell-do-you-think you're-doing look. Annabeth gave me the same kind of look only she looked pretty pissed. _

"_Tiff?" Percy said._

"_Huh?" I said, looking at him._

_His face turned bright red._

"_I, um, are we, uh…"_

_I rolled my eyes._

"_Spit it out," I said._

_I figured he wanted to stop dancing. I mean, it was weird…I had my hands on his shoulders and he had his arms around my waist. Talk about uncomfortable. _

"_Well, you wanna be friends? I mean you know we've been enemies since the 6__th__ grade and we've always been into fights and it seems like we hate each other and all but if we _were _friends or maybe _more_…wait…did I just…anyway do you—"_

_I laughed. It was funny how he said that so quickly…and _so subtle.

_The song ended but his hand was still holding mine._

_Double Awkward._

_But…it felt nice…_

_I squeezed his hand and let go with a huge grin on my face._

"_All right, Percy. Friends?" I asked, sticking out my hand._

_He grinned and took my hand. We both shook._

"_Friends."_

_

* * *

_Percy's POV

The last thing I wanted to do on my summer break was blow up another school. But there I was Monday morning, the first week of June, sitting in my mom's Mazda in front of Goode High School on East 81st.

Goode was this big brownstone building overlooking the East River. A bunch of BMWS and Lincoln Town Cars were parked out front. Staring up at the fancy stone archway, I wondered how long it would take me to get kicked out of this place.

"Just relax." My mom didn't sound relaxed. "It's only an orientation tour. And remember, dear, this is Paul's school. So try not to…you know."

"Destroy it?"

"Yes."

Paul Blofis, my mom's boyfriend, was standing out front, greeting future ninth graders as they came up the steps. With his salt-and-pepper hair, denim clothes, and leather jacket, he reminded me of a TV actor (TV actor…hmm…not so famous), but he was just an English teacher. He'd managed to convince Goode High School to accept me for ninth grade, despite the fact that I'd gotten kicked out of every school I'd ever attended. I tried to warn him it wasn't a good idea, but he wouldn't listen.

I looked at my mom. "You haven't told him the truth about me, have you?"

She tapped her fingers nervously on the wheel. She was dressed up for a job interview—her best blue dress and high-heeled shoes.

"I thought we should wait," she admitted.

"So we won't scare him away."

"I'm sure orientation will be fine, Percy. It's only one morning."

"Great," I mumbled. "I can get expelled before I start the school year."

"Think positive. Tomorrow you're off to camp! After orientation, you've got your date—"

"It's not a date!" I protested. "It's just Annabeth, Mom. Jeez!"

"She's coming all the way from camp to meet you."

"Well, yeah."

"You're going to the movies."

"Yeah."

"Just the two of you."

"Mom!"

"Wait, I thought you liked Tiffany…that girl you were 'enemies' with."

"_Mom, _Tiff is _just a friend!"_

"A friend with benefits."

"What?!!! Mom, seriously, we were just talking about Annabeth and now _Tiff_?!"

"Oh, so you _want _to talk about Tiffany?"

"NO! I don't wanna talk about NIETHER of them!"

"Well, I dislike Tiffany a little. She bullied you."

"Mom, it's _okay_. We're cool now. We're friends. Nothing more."

_I wish we were…_

I mentally slapped myself. What was I thinking?!

"Well, she _does _remind me of you a little bit. The two should go to the movies together. I mean, you and—"

"_MOM!"_

She held up her hands in surrender, but I could tell she was trying hard not to smile. "You'd better get inside, dear. I'll see you tonight."

I was about to get out of the car when I looked over at the steps of the school. Paul Blofis was greeting a girl with frizzy red hair. She wore a maroon T-shirt and ratty jeans decorated with marker drawings. When she turned, I caught a glimpse of her face, and the hairs on my arms stood straight up.

"Percy?" my mom asked. "What's wrong?"

"N-nothing," I stammered. "Does the school have a side entrance?"

"Down the block on the right. Why?"

"I'll see you later."

My mom started to say something, but I got out of the car and ran, hoping the redheaded girl wouldn't see me.

What was _she _doing here? Not even _my _luck could be this bad.

Yeah, right. I was about to find out my luck could get a whole lot worse.

* * *

Someone grabbed my shoulder: "What are you doing here?"

It was her: my redheaded nightmare.

"Rachel Elizabeth Dare," I said.

Her jaw dropped like she couldn't believe I had the nerve to remember her name. "And you're Percy somebody. I didn't get your full name last December when you tried to _kill _me. And where's your girlfriend? The 'You're such an asshole' girl?"

"Look, I wasn't—I didn't—I…she's NOT my girlfriend…I mean, what are _you _doing here?"

"Same as you, I guess. Orientation."

"You live in New York?"

"What, you thought I lived at Hoover Dam?"

It had never occurred to me. Whenever I thought about her (NOT LIKE THAT), I always figured she lived in the Hoover Dam area, since that's where me and Tiff met her. We'd spent 10 minutes together, during which time I'd accidentally swung a sword at her, she'd saved my life, Tiffany called my an asshole because I was telling her my name, and we had run away chased by a band of supernatural killing machines. You know, your typical chance meeting.

Some guy behind us whispered, "Hey, shut up. The cheerleaders are talking!"

Rachel yelped like someone had stuck her with a pin. A few teens looked over and snickered, but Rachel just stared at the cheerleaders in horror.

"Run," Rachel told me. "Now."

"Why?"

She didn't have time to explain. She started pushing her way through the crowd.

My heart pounding, I got up and followed her out of the gym.

* * *

I burst out of the alley onto East 81st and ran straight into Annabeth.

"Hey, you're out early!" She laughed, grabbing my shoulders to keep me from tumbling into the street.

For a split second she was in a good mood and everything was fine. She was wearing jeans and an orange camp T-shirt and her clay bead necklace. Her brown hair (**a/n: according to the movie!) **was pulled back in a ponytail. Her gray eyes sparkled. She looked like she was ready to catch a movie, have a cool afternoon hanging out together.

Then Rachel Elizabeth Dare, still covered in monster dust, came charging out of the alley, yelling, "Percy, wait up!"

Annabeth's smile melted. She stared at Rachel, then at the school. For the first time, she seemed to notice the black smoke and the ringing fire alarms.

She frowned at me. "What did you do this time? And who is this?"

"Oh, Rachel—Annabeth. Annabeth—Rachel. Um, she's a friend I guess."

I wasn't sure what else to call Rachel. I mean, I barely knew her, but after being in two life-or-death situations together, I couldn't just call her nobody.

"Hi," Rachel said. Then she turned to me. "You are in _so _much trouble. And you still owe me an explanation! Never mind that…You're going to call me and explain, 'kay? You owe me that. Now get going."

She scribbled her phone number on my hand with a Sharpie and ran back toward the school, leaving me and Annabeth in the street.

"Annabeth, wait up!" shouted a familiar voice.

I looked behind Annabeth and saw Tiffany. I gaped at her, literally.

I always saw Tiffany with the usual black skinny jeans and black T-shirt, her black Eckos, her hair in a medium ponytail, her nails painted black, punk jewelry, and the scowl on her face.

Today, I saw her with her hair down (with a white headband), flats, a pink shirt from _Aéropostale_, khaki capris, a necklace that had a heart chain, a ring on her middle finger on the right hand, her nails the colors of the rainbow, and a smile on her face. She was even wearing makeup.

Lord Zeus, shoot me with your lightning bolt now.

"Percy!" she exclaimed, jogging towards me.

"That_ can't _be Tiff," I said, still staring at her.

Annabeth chuckled.

"I invited her to come with us. I was hoping to surprise you."

"You surprised me all right…"

"Ohmigawd, like, hi!" Tiffany said, hugging me. She made air kisses.

_What the hell??? _I thought.

"Tiff?" I said, pulling away from her.

"Yeah?" she asked, grinning at me. I noticed she was wearing lip gloss.

I shook my head.

"N-never mind…" I said, feeling my cheeks heat up.

Annabeth looked at us with a grin on her face for a second. Then she turned and took off.

We followed.

"You told a mortal girl about half-bloods?" Annabeth asked.

"She can see through the Mist. She saw the monsters before I did."

"So you told her the truth."

"She recognized me from the Hoover Dam, so—"

"Oh, that girl with the amazing red hair? I like her!" Tiff said.

That was weird because she hated Rachel the second she saw her.

You've met her _before?_" Annabeth asked.

"Um, last winter. Tiff and I met her. But seriously, I barely know her."

"She's kind of cute."

"_Totally _cute!" Tiffany added.

"I—I never thought about it," I said.

Annabeth kept walking toward York Avenue.

"I'll deal with the school," I promised, anxious to change the subject. "Honest, it'll be fine."

Annabeth wouldn't even look at me. "I guess your afternoon is off. We should get you out of here, now that the police will be searching for you."

Behind us, smoke billowed up from Goode High School. In the dark column of ashes, I thought I could see a face—a she-demon with red eyes, laughing at me.

_Your pretty little camp in flames, _Kelli, the _empousai_, had said. _Your friends made slaves to the Lord of Time. _

"You're right," I told Annabeth, my heart sinking. "We have to get to Camp Half-Blood. _Now." _

But the question that bugged me was: Why was Tiffany acting like this?

This wasn't the same person I knew.

* * *

**A/N: THIS STORY IS NOT MEANT TO BE MARCY SUE OR OOC, BUT IF YOU THINK THAT WAY...FINE...JUST DON'T FLAME!!!! PLEASE REVIEW!!!**


	12. Tiffany Ain't Ebenita Scrooge

**A/N: Okay, this isn't a chapter of the story. Let's just say…this is a Christmas special. The setting is after ****The Titan's ****Curse and a little bit before ****The Battle of the Labyrinth.**** Tiffany and Percy would be…14….or something. Tiffany hasn't "changed" yet. So, this is kinda like a story from ****The Demigod Files**_**.**_** Please R&R (or make a banner—there'll be a chapter dedication! but you know...you don't have to). **

**

* * *

**_December_

Percy's POV

The last thing I wanted to do on Winter Break was to go shopping with my mom. There I was, inside Manhattan Mall, waiting for my mom to get out of Victoria's Secret.

I was sitting on one of those benches the mall has for people to sit on if they're tired. I called it the "guy chair" since there is always a male sitting instead of a female (because they're _always _on the move).

My mom was probably inside the store for more than an hour. I took out a drachma from my jacket pocket, thinking about Iris-messaging someone. The Mist would cover it up so that the mortals would think I was some psycho talking to myself. Well, this _is _New York so seeing strange things is pretty normal here.

All of a sudden, I heard yelling and screaming. I stood up and saw Tiffany Martin, face covered in makeup.

"Put that blush on me and I will _kill _you!" she shouted, pointing at this lady who was working at Sephora.

"Tiffany, darling, _please _let the lady put makeup on you!" said a woman.

The woman was slim and beautiful. She had dark long hair (which was curled), brown eyes, and lips the color of a rose. She was wearing an Oscar de la Renta black dress with black Prada heels. A Coach bag was hanging on her right shoulder.

I was guessing she was Tiffany's mother.

"_Hell no! _I can't _believe _that you _dragged _me here! You said we were going to Gamestop, but _no. _You take me to _Sephora _where _airheads go!"_ Tiffany shouted, pointing at the blondes who were looking at tubes of lip-gloss.

"Tiffany—"

"No! I'm sick and tired of being used as a _freaking doll! _I'm going home!"

Tiffany then grabbed a ton of tissues from one of the counters and started to wipe her face. She then flipped the employee off and stormed out of the store, cussing and mumbling how stupid girls were.

When she walked past me, I thought she was about to glare or threaten me. Instead, she ignored me and wiped her eyes with her balled fists.

I've seen many strange things before, but today, I saw Theophania "Tiffany" Martin _cry. _

She started to run out of the mall. I followed. I hated the winter coldness in NYC, but I guess I'd just have to be a man and suck it up.

"Tiff!" I shouted.

She turned around and groaned.

"Great, Prissy saw the whole thing!" she said, voice cracked.

I didn't know what to say next.

"I—"

My iPhone rang.

Tiffany shuffled her feet and sniffled as I took out my iPhone.

Caller ID: Sally Jackson.

"Mom?" I said into the mouthpiece.

"_Percy Jackson, where are you?!" she shouted._

I winced.

"Mom, there's—I—I had to go help someone," I said.

Tiffany scoffed.

I ignored her.

"_Is Annabeth in trouble again? She really—"_

"No, Mom. It's—uh, it's Tiffany."

"_I thought the both of you we—"_

"Mom, this isn't a good time. I'll come home soon. Bye."

I hung up and looked up to see Tiffany with her hand crossed, glaring at me.

"So…what's up?"

Brilliant, Jackson. Just brilliant.

She shrugged and wiped her eyes with her sleeve.

"Do you hate your mom?" I asked.

Tiff shrugged again.

"I didn't follow you just to be shrugged at. Now, tell me, what's wrong?"

She bit her lower lip.

"Can we talk somewhere else…not here?" she asked.

"Okay. Where do you wanna go?"

"Central Park."

We walked to Central Park in silence. When we got there, Tiff was back to her mean self.

She pushed me to the ground, making me scrape my hands.

"What the hell was that for?!" I shouted.

"For being a nosy son of Poseidon!" she replied.

I stood on my feet.

"I thought we made up, remember?" I reminded her.

She scoffed.

"Just 'cause we're friends doesn't mean I _don't _get to push you around."

I rolled my eyes.

"Anyway, will you tell me what's up?"

She crossed her arms again.

"Mark divorced mom," she said. "And my mom's been kinda emo lately."

Mark was Tiffany's step-dad. He worked for Wall Street or something.

"Oh, um, I'm sorry…" I said, nervously.

Tiffany scoffed.

"Now I can't go back to Camp Half-Blood bec—"

"What, why?!" I instantly shouted.

She rolled her eyes.

"If you'll let me _speak, _I'll tell you!"

I blushed.

"Sorry…"

"Anyway…I can't go back to Camp Half-Blood because Ares…well…he did something to Mark. I mean, like, Mark's _gone _now. Mom hasn't been speaking lately about it."

I shuddered. I was already enemies with Tiffany's godly father, so I knew what his personality was like. I had a thought of what happened to Tiff's step-dad.

"So you can't go back to Camp because Ares did something to your step-dad?" I asked.

Tiff shook her head "no" and bit her lip again.

"You promise you won't tell anyone after I told you why?" she asked.

I nodded.

"Sure."

"No, I'm serious. Swear on Zeus."

I crossed my heart.

"Swear on Zeus."

She sighed.

"Ares and my mom started fighting…verbally of course. I overheard everything…I _saw _everything. Ares came over to my home a few weeks ago. He found out from Apollo that Mark had divorced my mom. M-my dad called my mom a slut. He said Mark wasn't good enough for her and that it was right that he was divorcing her. My mom called him a bastard because he had dated her while dating the Goddess of Love. He got mad and tried to kill her with a spear but, for some strange reason, he didn't. His eyes grew soft, he said he was sorry (he didn't explain why), said goodbye to my mom (she was in tears!), and disappeared into smoke. I—I mean…I haven't seen Ares act like thatbefore."

"You can't show your face in Camp because of that?" I asked.

She nodded, trying hard not to cry.

"My mom won't let me go back…"

I put my arms around her (I held my breath and made a silent prayer to Zeus asking him to protect me if she tried to attack).

"H-hey, it's all right. My mom and Gabe used to have fights like that often. Well, not _life-threatening _fights…but…you know what I'm trying to say," I said, softly.

She looked at me in…a funny way. Her look was the look I'd expect a girl to do if she wanted to kiss you.

Oh the gods.

"Percy?" she whispered.

"Yeah?" I whispered back.

Are lips were _this _close to touching.

"Let go of me, _please._"

I blushed and let go.

She started to laugh.

"What's so funny?!" I asked, arms crossed.

She started to laugh harder.

"Your face! It was _priceless!_" she started laughing so hard, even New Yorkers had to look.

I blushed even more.

"You—actually—thought I was—gonna—_kiss you!!! Oh the gods…!!!! _HAHAHAHAHA!" she said through laughs.

I scoffed.

"N-no, I didn't!" I said, desperately.

She laughed even more.

She stopped after a couple of seconds but couldn't help but smile at me over and over again.

"Shut up," I said, cheeks still burning.

She started to snicker but stopped (with a smile on her face).

I shuffled my feet nervously.

"Wanna get chocolate at Starbucks?" I asked.

She smiled again.

"Why, so you can try to kiss—"

"Could we just _let it go? _Please?"

"All right!"

"What?"

"I'll let it go."

"What about the Starbucks question?"

She nodded and made a small smile (not the smile that was mocking me!).

"All right, Percy."

I made a sigh of relief. I thought she was gonna pin me to the ground.

"What are ya waitin' for? Let's go, go, go!" she said, dragging me to Starbucks.

Oh, Aphrodite. Don't hurt me, please.

* * *

"…and then _bang! _She did the nine o' clock hit on him!" Tiff said, banging on the café table. She banged the table so hard, her hot chocolate nearly fell.

I chuckled nervously. Having normal conversations with Tiffany was kind of hard. She talked about pranks she did, I talked about what my mom.

Other than that, we could talk about pretty much everything.

"Hey, Percy. What day is it today?" she asked.

I gave her a puzzled look.

"It's the 24th. Christmas Eve. Why?"

"Oh, _crap! _I have to go. I'm sorry. My mom—she's throwing a Christmas Eve party today and she invited her friends and their airhead daughters and gamer sons."

I darted my eyes from her eyes to my cup.

I had never been invited to a party before. The only parties I've been to were _my _birthday parties. They were pretty lame.

"Would you like to come? You could bring your mom and Paul, too. It starts at midnight," she said hopefully.

I gave her a puzzled look.

"Doesn't your mom—"

"It's _okay. _I'm pretty sure your mom and mine went to high school together. So I guess it's okay for you and your mom…_and _Paul to come."

Weird. My mom knew Tiff's mom?

I sighed.

"I dunno. I mean, I'll _ask. _But I don't—"

"Okay! See you there maybe. If not, IM me. Kay?"

I nodded.

"I promise."

"Bye, Percy," she said, getting up from her seat with her hot chocolate.

"Bye, Tiff," I said.

And she left.

* * *

I had seen Tiffany's house before. But today, it was bigger than I remembered. Great columns graced the doorway. Huge draped windows—like owl eyes—faced the street. Its full two stories put me in mind of a 1830s English fortress.

Paul rang the doorbell.

_Da da da da. Da da da da._

That was the kind of bell I'd hear from a Grandfather Clock.

I heard high-heels clack across the floor in the house. (Or should I say mansion?)

"Percy, stand up straight," my mom said.

My mom and Paul were dressed in their best clothes. Mom was wearing a blue jacket, a blue dress, and blue high heels. ("I got them at a sale at Nordstrom!" she had said to me.) Paul was wearing a black leather jacket, white buttoned shirt, khaki pants, and loafers. Iwas wearing a black jacket, a blue Polo Ralph Lauren shirt, black jeans, and my black Nikes. Hey, I tried my best.

The colossal, white door opened.

Tiffany's mother smiled. She was wearing a red Betsey Johnson dress, red heels, and a diamond necklace with matching earrings. She could put Aphrodite to shame.

"I'm so glad you could make it, Sally!" Tiff's mom said, hugging my mom.

"It's been so long, Lucinda!" my mom replied, pulling away. She was nearly in tears.

"Hi, I'm Paul Blofis. Sally's boyfriend," Paul said, shaking Mrs. Martin's (or Lucinda's?) hand. My mom blushed when he said "boyfriend."

"Nice to meet you," Lucinda said, showing off her white, sparkling teeth.

She looked at me with a huge smile.

"I've heard stories about you, Percy Jackson."

I gulped.

"Were the stories positive, Mrs. Martin?" I dared to ask.

Lucinda laughed.

"It's not _Mrs., _my dear Percy. I hate it how people mix it with that. I did not use my ex-husbands last name when we got married."

"Uh, I'm sorry…"

"Oh, it's quite all right. By the way, the stories _were _positive. Come in, come in! It's freezing out there!" she said, ushering us inside.

Mom, Paul and I walked inside the mansion and saw the tallest ceiling ever. Guests were _everywhere. _There was lovely crown molding, a table in the center, and two flights of spiral staircases going up to the second floor. The floor had ceramic tiles. There were pricey things all over the place.

Dream home, definitely.

"Percy, your mom and I will hang out with the adults, 'kay?" asked Paul, already holding a tequila.

I nodded.

"All right," I replied. I suddenly remembered I didn't know where to go next.

I was about to ask Ms. Martin to give me a tour of the manor, but she and all of the other adults were busy talking. I decided to tour the manor on my own.

"Boo!" shouted a voice behind me.

"Agh!" I screamed.

I turned around and saw Tiffany, grinning. She was wearing a black DC Shoes shirt, black skinny jeans, and black Eckos.

She was certainly in Christmas colors...

"Remind me why the party starts at midnight," I said.

"Uh, 'cause then it's Christmas. Doy, Jackson."

I rolled my green eyes.

"Well, _that's _stupid. I mean—"

"15!"

"14!"

"13!"

"12!"

"Why is everyone counting down?" I asked.

Tiffany smacked my forehead.

"Ow!" I yelped. She ignored me.

"We're counting down 'til Christmas, you stupid idiot!"

"…7!"

"6!"

We started to count down, too.

"5!"

"4!"

"3!"

"2!"

"1!"

"MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!"

Everyone in the hall started hugging and cheering. I usually wasn't _that _excited for Christmas, but I couldn't help but feel giddy today.

"Hey, Percy," Tiff said.

"Yeah?" I asked, looking at her.

She leaned closer to me. I thought she was about to kiss me or something but she didn't.

"Turn around," she whispered, eyes wide.

"What's with the whispering?!" I whispered back.

"Gods, just turn around!"

I did and saw Ares and Tiffany's mother talking. Ares was wearing a black suit and black loafers. I was surprised that he wasn't wearing his sunglasses to hide his eyes. I guess only Tiffany, Lucinda, my mom, and I could only see his eyes filled with flames because the mortals couldn't see them behind the Mist. If they did, they would've started gossiping about it or something.

All of a sudden, Ares kissed Tiff's mother. I gasped and looked at Tiffany. She looked like she was about to faint.

"Hey, you all right?" I asked her.

She shook her head as if it could get rid of the permanent memory.

She chuckled.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I guess I'm able to go to Camp now," she said.

I made a sigh of relief. To be honest, Camp wouldn't be the same without her.

"Hey, I just got Assassin's Creed II…wanna play?" Tiff asked, eyes gleaming with victory. I could tell she had played that game oft-

Did she just say Assassin's Creed _II?!!! _

"Whoa, sick!" I said. Did she say Assassin's Creed II? I think she did! No…wait…I _know _she did!

She grinned.

"So, wanna?" she asked.

"You're on!" I replied.

She grinned again.

"Oh, by the way, I got you something…" she said. She told me to stay still so she could get me my…present? I'm not sure. I was positive I couldn't stand still thanks to my ADHD.

She came back with an envelope. She was grinning. Did she think this was funny? She handed me the envelope.

"Gee, thanks…I've always wanted a letter…too bad I'm dyslexic and I can't read it," I said.

She rolled her brown eyes.

"Just open the letter, Prissy."

So I did.

The writing was in Ancient Greek: Σειρά περίπου. Turn around. I turned and saw Annabeth and Grover, grinning.

Annabeth ran and hugged me as tight as she could. Grover and I high-fived.

"Oh my gods, how long has it been?!" Annabeth said.

"Almost a year, Annabeth. Not so long ago," Grover said.

I looked at Tiff.

"You invited them? Even though you hate them?" I asked her.

Tiff shrugged and made a small smile.

"I don't _hate _them per se," she replied.

I scoffed.

"Yeah. That's not vague at all," I said.

Tiff chuckled.

"Annabeth, the game room has Sims City 4 so you can play that on my PC. Grover…uh...you can, uh, pick up trash... (Grover had scoffed at this point). Percy, you owe me a game of Assassin's Creed II!"

"Hey, Tiff?" I said.

"Yeah?" she replied.

I smiled.

"This…has been the best Christmas ever for me. No joke," I said.

"Yeah, and?"

I chuckled.

"Thanks, Tiff. Merry Christmas."

She grinned.

"No prob, Prissy. Anyway, prepare to get your ass kicked!" she said, running up the stairs.

"Hey, wait up!" I laughed, following her trail.

Tiffany Martin may be aggressive sometimes, but she can be kind.

* * *

**A/N: Ughh…I hate the ending!!! Please don't be mad at me! Lol. I just did this for fun, okay? I was really bored. Please review! PS: If you think this is Mary Sue, well you're wrong. I took a Mary Sue test and it says it isn't. If you disagree, too bad. Don't flame. _  
**


	13. Tiff is a Wannabe Daughter of Aphrodite

**A/N: So pissed off right now…okay, so I was at Barnes & Noble, looking at books in the Teen section and I see this book called "oh. my gods." I was like, "Huh, that sounds familiar…" and I start reading the back and I'm like, "WTF, THIS IS LIKE A RIP-OFF OF PERCY JACKSON!!!!" I mean, the movie isn't even out yet and this bitch is already making a spin-off of PJO. Go ahead and search "oh. my. gods." in Google. Have fun hatin' it…Please read and review!**

**

* * *

**Percy's POV

Nothing caps off the perfect morning like a long taxi ride with two girls (one who's pissed off and one who's nearly mental).

I tried to talk to Annabeth, but she was acting like I'd just punched her grandmother. All I managed to get out of her was that she'd had a monster-infested spring in San Francisco; she'd come back to camp twice since Christmas but wouldn't tell me why (which kind of ticked me off becau7se she hadn't told me she was in New York…._twice)_; and she'd learned nothing about the whereabouts of Nico di Angelo (long story). Talking to Tiffany was hard enough. She'd go on and on about her day at American Eagle with Silena or something.

"Any word on Luke?" I asked.

Annabeth shook her head. I knew this was a touchy subject for her. Annabeth had always admired Luke, the former head counselor for Hermes who had betrayed us and joined the evil Titan Lord Kronos. She wouldn't admit it, but I knew she still liked him. When we fought Luke on Mount Tamalpais last winter, he'd somehow survived a fifty-foot fall off a cliff. Now, as far as I knew, he was still sailing around on his demon-infested cruise ship while his chopped –up Lord Kronos re-formed, bit by bit, in a golden sarcophagus, biding his time until he had enough power to challenge the Olympian gods. In demigod-speak, we call this a "problem." In Old-Tiffany Martin speak, we call this a "_fucked up_ problem."

"Mount Tam is still overrun with monsters," Annabeth said. "I didn't dare go close, but I don't think Luke is up there. I think I would know if he was."

That didn't make me feel much better. "What about Grover?"

"He's at camp, doyy!" Tiff said.

"We'll see him today," Annabeth added.

"Did he have any luck? I mean, with the search for Pan?"

Annabeth fingered her bead necklace, the way she does when she's worried.

"You'll see," she said. But she didn't explain.

* * *

"Percy!" Tyson bellowed. He dropped his broom and ran at me. If you've never been charged by an enthusiastic Cyclops wearing a flowered apron and rubber cleaning gloves, I'm telling you, it'll wake you up quick.

"Hey, big guy!" I said. "Ow, watch the ribs. The ribs."

I managed to survive his bear hug. He put me down, grinning like crazy, his single calf-brown eye full of excitement. His teeth were as yellow and crooked as ever, and his hair was a rat's nest. He wore ragged XXXL jeans and a tattered flannel shirt under his flowered apron, but he was still a sight for sore eyes. I hadn't seen him in almost a year, since he'd gone under the sea to work at the Cyclopes' forges.

"You okay?" he asked. "Not eaten by monsters?"

"Not even a little bit." I showed him that I still had both arms and both legs, and Tyson clapped happily.

"Yay!" he said. "Now we can eat peanut butter sandwiches and ride fish ponies! We can fight monsters and listen to Tiffany say bad things (something told me he hadn't seen the New-Tiffany yet) and see Annabeth make things go BOOM!"

I hoped he didn't mean all at the same time, but I told him absolutely, we'd have a lot of fun this summer. I couldn't help smiling, he was so enthusiastic about everything.

"But first," I said, "we've gotta worry about inspection. We should…"

Then I looked around and realized Tyson had been busy. The floor was swept. The bunk beds were made. The saltwater fountain in the corner had been freshly scrubbed so the coral gleamed. On the windowsills, Tyson had set out water-filled vases with sea anemones and strange glowing plants from the bottom of the ocean. And more beautiful than nay flower bouquets the Demeter kids could whip up.

"Tyson, the cabin looks…amazing!"

He beamed. "See the fish poinies? I put them on the ceiling!"

A herd of miniature bronze hippocampi hung on wires from the ceiling, so it looked like they were swimming through the air. I couldn't believe Tyson, with his huge hands, could make things so delicate. Then I looked over at my bunk, and I saw my old shelf hanging on the wall.

"You fixed it!"

The shield had been badly damaged in a manticore attack last winter, but now it was perfect again—not a scratch. All the bronze pictures of my adventures with Tyson and Annabeth and Tiffany in the Sea of Monsters were polished and gleaming.

I looked at Tyson. I didn't know how to thank him.

Then somebody behind me said," Oh, my."

Silena Beauregard was standing in the doorway with her inspection scroll. She stepped into the cabin, did a quick twirl, then raised her eyebrows at me. "Well, I had my doubts. But you clean up nicely, Percy. I'll remember that."

She winked at me and left the room.

* * *

Tyson and I spent the afternoon catching up and just hanging out, which was nice after a morning of getting attacked by demon cheerleaders.

We went down to the forge and helped Beckendorf from the Hephaestus cabin with his metalworking. Tyson shoed us how he'd learned to craft magic weapons. He fashioned a flaming double-bladed war axe so fast even Beckendorf was impressed.

While he worked, Tyson told us about his year under the sea. His eye lit up when he described the Cyclopes' forges and the palace of Poseidon, but he also told us how tense things were. The old gods of the sea, who'd ruled during Titan times, were starting to make war on our father. Hen Tyson had left, battles had been raging all over the Atlantic. Hearing that made me feel anxious, like I should be helping out, but Tyson assured me that Dad wanted us both at camp.

"Lots of bad people above the sea, too," Tyson said. "We can make them go boom."

After the forges, we spent some time at the canoe lake with Annabeth. She was really glad to see Tyson, but I could tell she was distracted. She kept looking over at the forest like she was thinking about Grover's problem with the council. I couldn't blame her. Grover was nowhere to be seen, and I felt really bad for him. Finding the lost god Pan had to been his lifelong goal. His father and his uncle had both disappeared following the same dream. Last winter, Grover had heard a voice he was sure belonged to Pan—but apparently his search had led nowhere. If the council took away his searcher's license now, it would crush him.

"What's this 'other way'?" I asked Annabeth. "The thing Clarisse and Tiffany mentioned?"

She picked up a stone and skipped it across the lake. "Something Clarisse and Tiff scouted out. I helped them a little this spring. But it would be dangerous. Especially for Grover."

"Goat boy scares me," Tyson murmured.

I stared at him. Tyson had faced down fire-breathing bulls and sea monsters and cannibal giants and the old Tiffany Martin. "Why would you be scared of Grover?"

"Hooves and horns," Tyson muttered nervously. "And goat fur makes my nose itchy."

And that pretty much ended our Grover conversation.

Before dinner, Tyson and I went down to the sword arena. Quintus was glad to have company. He wouldn't tell me what was in the wooden crates, but he did teach me a few sword moves. The guy was good. He fought the way some people play chess—like he was putting all the moves together and you couldn't see the pattern until he made the last stroke and won with a sword at your throat.

"Good try," he told me. "But your guard is too low."

"Hey, guys!" said a familiar voice behind me.

I turned around and saw Tiffany, using her Vanilla Softlips as if it was meant to be used as a chapstick.

"Who's that, Percy?" asked Tyson.

"Tiffany Martin," I answered, blocking Quintus.

"What?! But she's _pretty!" _

The New-Tiffany laughed. The Old-Tiffany would've kicked his butt right there in front of us. To be honest, she _was _pretty. Back then when she was her old self, you had to look at her for a while to notice how pretty she was. Now since she's all girly, you could easily call her beautiful.

"So, why are you here, Tiff?" I asked, knocking Quintus' blade out of his hand.

"Just makin' sure y'all are ready for dinner," she said, done putting on chapstick. She smacked her lips and winked at me. "Well, buh-bye!" And she skipped away.

"She's the 2nd daughter of Ares, right?" asked Quintus, picking up his sword.

I nodded. "Yeah, why?"

He sighed and shook his head. "Poor girl…"

"What?" I asked.

Quintus shook his head again. "Nothing. It's almost dinner. You and Tyson need to hit the showers."

* * *

_The next morning at breakfast…_

Somebody else slid next to me on the bench: Annabeth.

"I'll tell you what it's about," she said. "The Labyrinth."

It was hard to concentrate on what she was saying, because everybody in the dining pavilion was stealing glances at us and whispering. And Annabeth was right next to me. I mean _right _next to me.

"You're not supposed to be here," I said.

"But we need to talk," she insisted.

"But the rules…"

She knew as well as I did that campers weren't allowed to switch tables. Satyrs were different. They weren't really demigods. But the half-bloods had to sit with their cabins. I wasn't even sure what the punishment was for switching tables. I'd never seen it happen. If Mr. D had been here, he probably would've strangled Annabeth with magical grapevines or something, but Mr. D wasn't here. Chiron had already left the pavilion. Quintus looked over and raised an eyebrow, but he didn't say anything.

"Look," Annabeth said, "Grover is in trouble. There's only one way we can figure to help him. It's the Labyrinth. That's what Clarisse, Tiff, and I have been investigating."

I didn't pay attention what she said next, but she called me an idiot for thinking the Labyrinth was under a building.

"…You can go anywhere through the Labyrinth," she said.

"If you don't get lost," Grover muttered. "And die a horrible death."

"Grover, there has to be a way," Annabeth said. I got the feeling they'd had this conversation before. "Clarisse lived. _Tiffany _lived."

"Barely!" Grover said. "Tiff and the other guy—"

"They're just driven insane. They didn't die."

"Oh, joy." Grover's lower lip quivered. "That makes me feel much better."

"Whoa," I said. "Back up. What's this about Clarisse and Tiff and this crazy guy?"

Annabeth glanced over toward the Ares table. Clarisse was watching like she knew what we were talking about, but then she fixed her eyes on her breakfast plate. Tiffany waved uncontrollably at me.

"Last year," Annabeth said, lowering her voice, "Clarisse and Tiffany went on separate missions for Chiron."

"I remember," I said. "It was secret."

She then explained that Clarisse found Chris Rodriguez last summer in Phoenix, Arizona, near Clarisse's mom's house.

"He was wandering around the desert, in 120 degrees, in full Greek armor, babbling about string."

"String," I said.

"He'd been driven completely insane! She tired to nurse him back to health in her mom's house. Chiron came out and interviewed him, but it wasn't much good. The only thing they got out of him: Luke's men have been exploring the Labyrinth."

I shivered, though I wasn't sure exactly why. Poor Chris…he hadn't been that bad a guy. What could've driven him mad? I looked at Grover, who was chewing up the rest of his fork."

"Okay," I asked. "Why were they exploring the Labyrinth?"

"We weren't sure," Annabeth said. "That's why Clarisse and Tiffany went on a scouting expedition. Chiron kept things hushed up because he didn't want anyone panicking. When Tiffany went inside the Labyrinth—"

She paused.

"What?" I asked. "What happened to Tiff?"

Annabeth and Grover looked at each other nervously.

"W-well, before she went into the Labyrinth she was her normal self. When she came out, the next thing you knew, she was acting like a daughter of Aphrodite."

"So, you're telling me, Tiffany and Chris were inside the Labyrinth and now are both driven completely insane?" I asked.

Grover shrugged. "Tiffany isn't _that _insane. To be honest, I like the way she is right now."

"Well, _I _don't," I said. I like the way she was before she went into the Labyrinth. She tried to be tough most of the time and always wanted to be right. Now, the New-Tiffany was nice 24/7 and would lose an argument since she didn't want to hurt the other person's feelings.

"But the point is, the Labyrinth has entrances everywhere. If Luke could figure out how to navigate it, he could move his army around with incredible speed."

"A maze full of horrible traps," Grover said. "Dead ends. Illusions. Psychotic goat-killing monsters."

"But not if you had Ariadne's string," Annabeth said. Chris Rodriguez was mumbling about string."

"So Luke is trying to find Ariadne's string," I said. "Why? What's he planning?"

Annabeth shook her head. "I don't know. I thought maybe he wanted to invade camp through the maze, but that doesn't make any sense. The closest entrances Clarisse found were in Manhattan, which wouldn't help Luke get past our borders. Tiffany knows the real location of the Labyrinth but she won't tell us. I don't understand exactly what Luke's planning, but I do know this: the Labyrinth might be the key to Grover's problem."

I blinked. "You think Pan is underground?"

"It would explain why he's been impossible to find."

Grover shuddered. "Satyrs hate going underground. No searcher would ever try going in _that _place. No flowers. No sunshine. No coffee shops!"

"We'll talk later," Annabeth said after Quintus cleared his throat.

"I have to leave," Grover said miserably. "Juniper's waiting for me. It's a good thing she finds cowards attractive."

* * *

**A/N: **I know it was a little bit boring (considering Tiffany is a wannabe daughter of Aphrodite) but you guys had questions about her and Percy and I just had to answer them quick. Stay tuned for the next chapter! Please review! And Happy Percy Jackson Day!


	14. I Kiss My Former Enemy

**A/N: Okay, you guys were right. Tiffany is just an added character into PJO. So…I'm gonna make this chapter…the FINAL chapter of The Daughter of Ares.**

**Don't fret!**

**Wait…what the hell…? Fret?**

**Anyway, I will be making a sequel! YAYYY!!! **

**Applause, applause, applause.**

**If you hate this story, don't review. If you like it, review. The more reviews, the better.**

**Ohhh, I forgot to mention.**

**I'm only posting the sequel on Quizilla because the Quizilla people are way, way, way cooler than the Fanfiction people (no offense…actually, yes…be offended). **

**Now…I will continue this story! :D**

**And thank you FalconSpirit for the banner!!! Give her claps everyone! :D**

**Oh, wait…you people on fanfiction can't see it??? WELL, THAT'S CAUSE QUIZILLA IS COOLER…SO SUCK THAT…!!!**

**

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**Percy's POV

Today was August 18th, my fifteenth birthday.

As you can see, hell is past me. Well, half of it. I was prepared for next year when the prophecy kicked in.

My mom threw me a small birthday party at our apartment. Paul Blofis (my mom's boyfriend) came over, but that was okay because Chiron had manipulated the Mist to convince everyone at Goode High School that I had nothing to do with the band explosion. Now Paul and the other witnesses were convinced that Kelli had been a crazy, firebomb-throwing cheerleader, while I had simply been an innocent bystander who'd panicked and ran from the scene. I would still be allowed to start as a freshman at Goode next month. If I wanted to keep my record of getting kicked out of school every year, I'd have to try harder.

Tyson came to my party, too, and my mom baked two extra blue cakes just for him.

My dad…yes, my real dad Poseidon…came over to have a little chat with me. He called me his favorite son.

Best birthday gift. Ever.

Nico di Angelo had also, unexpectedly, come to my apartment.

Did I also mention that Paul asked my permission to marry my mom? Scary, I know. I told him sure.

There was only one person missing: Tiffany Martin.

You must be thinking, "Tiffany Martin's a wannabe daughter of Aphrodite!" Well, she's not anymore. She got cured by Mr. D (yup, he came back). Tiffany gave me a few weird looks after she was cured by Mr. D. I have no idea why. I don't exactly dislike her.

To be honest, I actually like her. _In that way. _

Anyway, I was just getting ready to open my gift from Tyson when the doorbell rang.

My mom faked a gasp. "Who could that be?"

I knew my mom _knew _who it was who rang the doorbell. Her acting really sucks. But the point is, who was at the door?

My mom opened the door and exclaimed, "Tiffany! It's so nice to see you!"

I literally dropped Tyson's gift.

"Noooooo, I think you broke it!" Tyson said.

I ignored him.

"Mom, you invited _Tiffany?!" _I practically shouted.

"Hey, nice to see you too, Ace," Tiffany said, smiling at me.

The Old Tiffany usually wore black skinny jeans and a black graphic tee. The Wannabe Daughter of Aphrodite Tiffany wore capris and a pink Aéropostale shirt.

But the Not So Mean But Still the Same Tiffany was wearing a gray Hurley T-shirt with black shorts.

And she was holding a gift.

"Hi," I said, nervously.

"Hiya," she said, waving at me.

Nico and Tyson exchanged looks.

"Hi, Paul," Tiffany said. "Nico. Tyson."

Nico nodded politely but Tyson shouted, "Why are you here?!"

"Tyson," I said through gritted teeth.

"Sorry, Percy…"

"Here, catch," Tiffany said, tossing the wrapped box to me.

I caught it and shook it.

"Open it," Tiff said.

Tyson cried, "But he was supposed to open _my _gi—"

"Uh…iPhone skins…thank you…too bad I don't have one…." I said, lamely.

My mom giggled.

Nico, Paul, Tyson, and I gaped at her.

"You got me an iPhone?!" I shouted.

My mom nodded, tying hard not to squeal, and handed me a box that wasn't wrapped.

It said on the box: Apple iPhone.

Second best gift ever.

"Mom, h-how did you—?" I couldn't even finish the sentence. I was overjoyed. Gay word to describe myself, I know. But it's true!

"Tiffany helped me pay for it," my mom said.

I looked at Tiff.

"You…?"

She laughed.

"Now, lets it the cake before it all goes to waste, huh?" my mom said.

"Hey," I said, standing next to Tiffany on the balcony of my apartment.

"Nice place, your apartment," Tiffany said. "Not so bad."

I laughed. "It looks better now that Gabe is gone. Paul's gonna propose to my mom, did you know that?"

"No, I did _not _know that. Thanks for telling me, Ace."

I chuckled.

We watched cars, buses, and taxis go by the apartment…hobos begging for money…passersby doing drugs in the corners of the buildings…

I do this every single night. But today, I noticed how beautiful the sky was.

"Beautiful night today, ain't it?" Tiffany said as if she read my mind. "I've lived here for 14 in a half years and I never noticed New York as much."

"14 in a half?" I repeated.

Tiffany nodded.

"Yeah. My birthday isn't until August 21st. I thought you knew."

"I do. Well, I did. I mean, I must've forgotten…"

I saw Tiffany's expression drop.

Tip number one: Never tell a girl you forgot her birthday.

"S-so are you gonna throw a party on your special day?" I quickly asked.

Tiffany shook her head.

"My mom's in Paris for her work. She's a fashion designer. Puke."

"Wait, so you're home alone?" I asked.

She shrugged.

"If you don't count the maids, chauffeurs, and those people…yeah. And I don't have mortal friends. Except for Nancy. She has a thing for you."

"Nancy? Nancy Bobofit? That chick in 6th grade?"

"Who else? She only wanted to bully you because she thought you were attractive," Tiffany said, sadly. "The point is, I'm gonna celebrate my birthday by myself."

"Oh, _no _you're _not. _In three days, meet me at Central park at 3 in the afternoon," I said, looking at her.

She looked at me. "What?"

"I'm gonna throw you a party whether you like it or not."

She laughed.

"_You're_ gonna throw _me _a _party_?"

"It's the least I can do. You came over to mine."

"That's 'cause your mother invited me."

"Fine. Just you and me at Central Park. We can do anything you want."

"Are you asking me on a date, Ace?" she asked, chuckling.

I shrugged, blushing.

"I suppose. It depends on your answer," I said smoothly.

She laughed and said, "Okay. Fine. I'll go on this 'date'."

I smiled with success and looked at her.

"What are you staring at?" she asked.

"You," I simply replied.

She rolled her eyes and smirked at me.

"Why are you flirting with me, Ace? Is it because im pretty?" she joked.

I shook my head and said, "You're not pretty. You're beautiful."

I turned to look at her. She looked at me, confused.

The next thing I knew, my hands were on her waist, hers were around my neck, and my lips were against hers.

Oh. My. Gods.

I kissed Theophania "Tiffany" Martin.

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**A/N: Whoa—ho—ho…a little twist there! LOL. What's the sequel's name???? Look below and there's a banner! :D **

**Fanfiction ppl can't see it? Too bad. :( LOL. Sorry, y'all. I don't feel like putting the squeal on FF because most of the people are mean (no offense!). Well, please review! **


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